Threads of Fate
by Calanor
Summary: When Farnese de Vandimion is at her lowest an emissary of the creators of the world comes before her. Exalted by the might of fallen titans the threads of fate are severed. In a world of darkness even the faintest of lights heralds change, for good or ill. Perhaps the green light is only the beginning... Berserk/Exalted fusion
1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes:** Hello everyone. I know I shouldn't start a new story when my other stories have gone without updates for so long. Unfortunately my muse is a fickle thing and the idea for this story has been begging for attention lately. By giving in I hope to get back into writing in general and finally continue my other stories as well.

This is a fusion between Exalted, the role playing game by White Wolf and Berserk, the manga by Kentaro Miura. Knowledge of either setting shouldn't be required to understand what is happening. A word of warning: The world of Berserk is very dark and includes heavy violence, sexual content and other disturbing things. I will strive to handle that in a more or less mature manner, but you have been warned.

* * *

 **Threads of Fate**

 **Chapter 1: A fallen maiden severs a thread**

 _In this world is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of god hovering above? Perhaps Man has no control even over his own will…_

* * *

' _Dawn has come. Finally.'_

A gentle wind blew across the land. The pre-dawn light turned the desert sky a beautiful shade of blue while painting the mountaintops gold. All in all it could have been a picture of peace if not for the chopped up corpses of several dozen wild dogs and one horse strewn across the landscape.

Amidst the corpses Farnese de Vandimion, commander of the Knights of the Holy Iron Chains, knelt, her hands bound. The young woman was still shaking from the horrors of the night, but her focus was on the man sitting on the ground a dozen meters away, his enormous sword by his side.

The black swordsman. The fifth harbinger of the apocalypse. The Dark Hawk. Guts.

The man should be her prisoner, had been her prisoner, in fact, before he somehow managed to break out of an iron cage and abduct her from amidst her knights in the process. For two years they had followed the trail of carnage the black swordsman left behind. Yesterday they had finally caught up to him and taken him prisoner, losing several knights in the process.

Last evening the world had still been as right as it could get. Their search was finished, the prisoner secured. Farnese had been at her evening prayer when Guts appeared in her tent and knocked her out with a single blow. When she had come to she had been bound and gagged, thrown over a horse the swordsman had stolen. Soon after, the true horrors of the night had begun.

Farnese couldn't stop shaking. The shadows had come alive. 'God's miracles' Guts had called them. Some had taken possession of a pack of wild dogs and their horse, turning them into monsters. That only stopped after Guts had hacked them to pieces, but the shadows continued attacking throughout the entire night. If not for the swordsman the shadows would have easily overpowered her.

' _I am shaking too much with fear to run away. I can't even speak the name of God. I, who call myself one of God's people. Though I have chanted his name thousands upon ten thousands of times… I can't…'_ Farnese collapsed on herself, her head coming to rest on the ground. _'Beneath the blue sky I am merely tiny, wretched and helpless.'_

Unseen, a shadow floating on the wind touched the bare back of the kneeling woman.

" _Merely helpless? If you are helpless then where is the sin? No falsehood here. No need to cover it up with your pretty little words,"_ a voice whispered in the back of Farnese's head. _"It's in you. You never tell anyone. The desire… the darkness."_

"No!" Farnese whispered, trying to dispel the voice by shaking her head.

" _Closing up your ears will not help you. This voice comes from within you. It is your feelings."_

Before Farnese's eyes the desert fell away, to be replaced by a scene from yesterday, when she had tried to interrogate the black swordsman. _" Oh, see? While you whipped that man, his body like steel… you felt it then. Boiling up within yourself. The passions of the flesh. And then… you nearly stroked his body, watching the blood you made."_

' _No!'_

" _Waves of pleasure filled you…"_

' _I do not wish to hear this!'_

The scene before her eyes changed to that of her last evening prayer, her back raw and bleeding from her customary self-flagellation.

" _But that's not all! You pretend to examine your inner self, but it is always the same. You find pleasure in the pain. You hide beneath the lie that is your faith. All your devotion is caused by your shameful pleasure."_

' _That's not true!'_

" _You do nothing that is not inside of yourself. The things that you and others can boast of are nothing. Pathetic woman, you are merely getting drunk on the power of God, because it is terrible knowing nothingness."_

Farnese felt the shadow on her back, its tongue licking the side of her face. One hand caressed her breast. The shadow's other hand… her hand reached between her legs.

" _Within here, there is nothing but desire. You want things to be made sullied, both yourself and others, both the flesh and the mind. Such dark, dark desire. That is all."_

Farnese felt herself falling into the darkness even as tears rolled across her face. The rope the black swordsman had bound her hands with parted like a spider web. She was only vaguely aware of discarding her damaged trousers.

" _In here there is no unpleasant god. This throbbing alone is the truth. Trust in me, that is the only thing that is certain. You are too far from God."_

It was like a dream. Sharp rocks dug into the soles of her bare feet as she walked towards the black swordsman.

"Oi… What are you playing at?"

Before Farnese knew it she was straddling the sitting man, her tongue slithering along his neck until she tasted a bleeding mark. Such delicious blood. She was only barely aware that she pushed Guts to the ground and easily prevented him from rising, a feat that should have been completely impossible in light of their extreme difference in bulk and strength.

Her tongue found the blood on Guts' bandaged hand and the gore on his blade. Each droplet sent another shiver of ecstasy through her body. Quickly, she shifted the enormous weapon until its grip was in Guts' hand and she straddled its edge. Almost in the same movement she wound the cord that had been her fetter around Guts' neck and pulled it taut.

Farnese once again licked the struggling swordsman's face. "Raise it. Raise that sword slowly. You'll taste it too, this pleasure. Go on. Slowly tear me in two."

Slowly, Farnese pulled the rope around the swordsman's neck tighter. He would have no choice but to raise his sword. And then… then…

A faint scream echoed in Farnese's head as the sun finally cleared the horizon and the rays of morning light hit her. From one moment to the next the world snapped back into proper focus and all strength left her. The cord fell from her hands and she sagged on top of the swordsman.

"Oi, if you're sane again, get the hell off!"

Tears streamed freely from Farnese's eyes while she clutched her head. What had she done? What had she done?

"NOOOOOO!"

The next thing Farnese knew she was kneeling on the ground, crying hysterically. Some part of her mind heard Guts talking to her.

"You are free to go; I don't need you anymore to cover my escape. You should hurry. A storm's coming."

Farnese didn't pay attention. The only thing on her mind was her failure. She had failed her mission, failed her faith, failed herself.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Farnese felt a boot touching her side, but she didn't react. I didn't matter anyway. "Whatever. I figure your knights should find you soon enough."

Farnese didn't notice when the black swordsman left. She remained kneeling on the ground, barely noticing the scorching sun on her bare back.

She didn't know how long she knelt there. In the end only she only came to herself when sand grains hit her raw back. The pain forced her to pay attention to the world. In the time she had spent insensate dark brown clouds had covered the entire sky, plunging the world into twilight. The wind had picked up and was driving large clouds of sand against the mountainside.

' _A sandstorm.'_

The sudden threat to Farnese's life stirred her into activity. She knew she had to find cover, quickly. Being caught in the open in such a storm would be deadly. Before she had taken twenty steps the world disappeared behind clouds of sand. She couldn't even see the nearest mountainside anymore. Grains of sand painfully pelted her naked body.

She walked blindly for a seeming eternity. Several times strong gusts of wind picked her up and threw her to the ground. Soon she began bleeding from a hundred different scrapes.

' _Will I die here?'_

As if in answer to her question a wall of rock appeared in front of her. Unfortunately, there was still no cover to be found. She continued staggering alongside the cliff, half-pressed against the mountain.

Farnese almost fell when the rock suddenly disappeared. When she looked she found a tight crevice reaching into the mountain. She immediately squeezed into it as far as she could. There was a slight bend to it and she could no longer see the exit when she could go no further. The occasional shower of sand grains still reached her and gusts of wind constantly howled around her, but in comparison to outside they lacked force.

Farnese didn't know how long she cowered in the crevice, her face pressed against the rock, until the howling storm finally subsided.

Slowly, Farnese forced her aching body to move and leave the crevice. She would have liked nothing more to simply remain still, but if she remained inside her knights had no chance of finding her. Hunger and thirst wracked her body. How long had it been since she last slept?

Once Farnese was free of the confines of the cave she fell to the ground. When she looked up her eyes widened in fear. The sun had already disappeared behind the horizon, leaving only the mountaintops bathed in fading light. Night was falling quickly.

Panic overtook Farnese as she stumbled to her feet and started running. She didn't get far before the last of her strength left her and she tumbled to the ground. Her head was spinning with exhaustion. The world had gone dark, only lit by the stars and a two-third full moon.

" _Life." "Flesh." "Blood." "Warmth." "Give them…" "To us!"_

The whispers started as the shadows began moving, assuming substance they shouldn't have.

"No! No, not again. Please, God, no."

Farnese could do little more than huddle onto herself as the shadowy creatures drew closer, ever more emerging from the darkness. They were all around her. This time there was no black swordsman around to save her, as much as she hated to be reminded of the villain.

One of the things stretched its hands towards her… only to suddenly disintegrate as silver light illuminated the area.

"Have no fear, my lady. These dead things may not touch you as long as I am here."

Farnese's head snapped around, towards the origin of the voice. Then her jaw fell open.

A man was dancing there in the desert sand, a silver sheen emanating from his body. It was the most graceful thing Farnese had ever seen despite the strangeness of the dance itself, so different from everything she had seen in the palaces of the noble and the rich or even in the towns and cities of the commoners. Even the tiniest of movements was heavy with unknown meaning. Where he danced the shadows receded and the monsters fled screaming into the darkness.

The fear left Farnese's heart and the pain from the sunburns and uncounted scrapes faded. Instead she felt heat rising inside of her as she watched the man dance a full circle around her.

"Who are you?" she gasped out from between parched lips, her eyes unable to leave the dancer as he continued his impossibly graceful dance.

"Aerinian is the name under which I entered the ranks of the citizens of the Holy City. I am of the gilmyne, who trace their descent from the Guardian of Sleep, Expressive Soul of The End of All Wisdom, sixth among the souls of the Lawgiver," the man answered in a tongue Farnese couldn't place.

Farnese was still trying to make sense of that introduction when she noticed something. Wherever the man stepped in his ceaseless dancing the ground smoldered and burned. She looked more closely, trying to make out when the man set his feet down. She gasped. There was fire there, whirling silver flames, but no legs. Then she blinked and there was only a man.

Her mind flew back to her time in the convent, before she had become the leader of the church's knights. She remembered studying scripture, of reading of beings made of holy fire. "Are you an angel?"

Aerinian bowed elegantly. "You may call me that, my lady, for indeed I carry a message from the creators of the world. Rejoice, for you have been chosen. I come before you with an offer. Become the champion of the architects of Creation and set the world right. Accept me and the power to change the world will become yours, to wield as you see fit in service of the rightful Masters of All. "

Farnese clenched her fists while fresh tears began welling from her eyes. An irrefutable proof of God's existence stood before her. And yet… and yet... "I am not worthy. I failed…"

Heat caressed her cheeks. The angel had closed the distance, his hands not quite touching her face. His entire being radiated compassion. "Yes, you failed. I know this as do my masters. Yet, that very fact is what brings me before you. My task is to seek out a champion who has tasted defeat and knows failure."

"But why?"

Aerinian's movements became slow, their former energy missing. Incredible sadness gripped Farnese's heart at the sight. It was like watching a flame wither and die. "Because the world is broken, the natural order defiled. The creators of all have been slain, maimed and imprisoned by the treacherous divinities and their pawns. Only humans who share the experience of utter defeat were deemed fit to restore the holy order."

Farnese's head was swimming. It was all too much. She had no idea how that fit into doctrine. And yet, the words rang true. In her entire life she had never felt that the world was completely right. Still, could someone like her ever become a true champion of God? "What if… what if I refuse?"

"Then I will seek another worthy of my masters' gift. Reject me and I will leave. Accept me and I will be at your side forevermore. The choice is entirely yours, my lady." The dancer was silent for a few heartbeats. "I do not wish to pressure you, my lady, but you should know that time is growing short. The power I carry saps my strength with every passing moment. If you plan to refuse, do so now, so that I may seek another before my strength leaves me and I fail in my holy task."

"NO!" Farnese blurted out. If the angel left the shadows would come back. She couldn't face them, not again. All her doubts of her suitability as a champion of God were secondary to that. "I accept."

"Most excellent, my lady," the angel said before he leapt towards her.

The last Farnese de Vandimion saw was a sea of silver flame engulfing her.

* * *

Azan watched the last search party return with a sinking heart. He didn't need to hear their report to realize that they had been unsuccessful, too. Their faces and the lack of an additional rider were proof enough. Still, the men had tried and it was his duty to receive them.

The knights saluted as he approached. "Sir Azan. We found no trace of Lady Farnese. We continued searching until it grew too dark to see anything. We almost didn't find the way back to the camp."

Azan nodded. "I understand. Get some rest. We will continue the search tomorrow at first light."

The old knight shook his head in dismay as soon as the tired knights were out of sight. This was a catastrophe. Worse, it was his fault. Lady Farnese might have been their commander, but she wasn't a true warrior. By tradition the Knights of the Holy Iron Chain were commanded by a woman. As her lieutenant it was his duty to take care of the day-to-day tasks of running the group.

The last day really had been a string of terrible mistakes. From the losses suffered while taking the black swordsman prisoner over letting him escape the same evening to bungling the pursuit. His knights had failed in the most unbecoming manner.

Yet, the fault lay with him. He should have trained them better. He had been a knight for more than thirty years. Most of them were on their first true assignment. Who if not him should have seen to it that they were prepared properly?

Azan suppressed a sigh when he entered the sick tent. He couldn't permit himself to dwell on these things. The patients were all asleep or at least resting and he didn't want to disturb them. "Any change?"

The surgeon shrugged. "He breathes easier. That is a hopeful sign, I think, but he is feverish. He may wake quickly or never. I did all I could. Now we can only hope. Head injuries are always difficult."

Azan put a hand on the man's shoulder. "I understand. Get some sleep. You will need to be alert tomorrow."

Nodding gratefully, the surgeon retreated. He had been busier today than anytime during the last two years of their mission. The black swordsman had seen to it.

Azan grabbed a stool and sat down at the bedside of the young man he had come to see. Serpico, that was his name. He had been with Lady Farnese before she became the knights' commander and had become one of the order's heralds. In the past Azan had taken him for a fool who liked to make fun of their duties and calling, but now he was reconsidering in light of recent events. The young man was the only one who had managed to pursue the fleeing black swordsmen into the night when the rest of the camp had descended into chaos.

Unfortunately, riding at night here in the mountains was dangerous and Serpico had come to harm without achieving his goal. When Azan sent out search parties the next morning they had found an unconscious Serpico suffering from a serious head wound. His horse had fared worse and broken two legs. They had to put the poor animal down. The knights had managed to bring the young man back before the sandstorm made continuing the search an exercise in futility. After it subsided they tried again, but the time was just too short and the area too large. The sandstorm had buried all tracks, too.

Hours passed slowly, spent in self-recrimination. It was far past midnight in Azan's estimate when he noticed Serpico's eyelids fluttering.

Suddenly Serpico's eyes opened and he shot upright. "LADY FARNESE!"

Azan gently but firmly pushed the man down. "Calm yourself."

"Lady Farnese! Is she safe?" Serpico asked urgently, but Azan could already see his eyes drifting shut again.

"We have yet to find her, but fear not. We will resume the search tomorrow at first light."

Azan dearly hoped it wouldn't be too late by then. The desert wasn't kind.

* * *

The desert, the shadow, the wind, the city, the crystal flame and the sea joined their voices.

 ** _See the injustice that has been inflicted on us. See how we have been maimed by the treacherous gods. See how they have marred the proper order. You have received power. You have received guidance. Now go, our Chosen, and set the world right._**

Farnese opened her eyes. She was back in the deserted mountains. Power pulsed inside her while a storm of heatless green and silver flames raged around her. The shattered remnants of something were strewn across the ground. It seemed to be nighttime, with a dark, star-speckled sky above her.

Above all, she felt elation incomparable to anything in her previous life. It was hard to describe what Farnese had just experienced. She had felt God's proximity and endless grace. An alien and yet strangely beautiful city had stretched before her, layer upon layer wrapped around a heart of green flame. From that awe-inspiring flame God had spoken to her.

There had been visions of other beings, subservient to God yet infinitely more than any human could ever hope to be.

A dragon made of the shadow of every creature that ever lived.

A bottomless sea of bright colors, enclosing everything in a motherly embrace.

A pattern formed by innumerable crystal spheres containing a colorless fire, whispering in a thousand voices.

A red wind that spread silence, reveling in the sheer joy of freedom.

And, most importantly, a silver desert stretching to infinity under a black firmament.

Farnese had gazed into the heart of the desert and seen the princess of azure and crimson on her throne of stained glass and listened to her imperious words. She couldn't quite recall them now, but their essence remained with her: Power was everything.

For so long she had repeated empty words, sought shelter behind walls of false faith. Now she had glimpsed the truth. It was a revelation.

" _That was… remarkable. Oh my Princess of the Green Sun, what an honor for one such as me to partake in this glory."_

Farnese looked around. There was no trace of the angel. "Aerinian? Where are you?"

" _We have become one, my ardent lady, for now and forever. One body, two minds. For as long as you live I will always be at your side, as was promised."_ Farnese felt as if someone was sighing in her head. _"I must say, it is a peculiar feeling to be clad in flesh and without a body of my own. This is a most disturbing experience, but I will manage."_

"You are possessing me?"

" _Oh no, no. Fear not, my fervid princess. I feel what you feel, but the body is entirely yours. I now simply number among your souls."_

That brought Farnese up short. The angel had said that when he made his offer, but she didn't realize the full meaning then. She didn't know what to think about it. To have a divine emissary at her side and never to be alone again…

Farnese shook her head. There would be time to think of it later. The feeling of elation was fading and she able to think more clearly. That brought a certain fact to the forefront. "Why am I on fire? I am not burning."

" _This is your anima banner, my princess, a sign of your exalted power. Some of the essence that is yours to command is overflowing from your soul. Once you stop stoking it the anima banner should begin to die down. I recommend you do so if you do not wish to draw unwelcome attention."_

Farnese was about to ask how when she felt it. She didn't know how she understood it, but she did. There was maelstrom of power pulsing inside of her fed by a spring of unbelievable strength. As she willed it the spring ceased and the maelstrom began to calm, although as far as she could see it had no effect on the radiance around her. "Why are you calling me princess?"

" _Because this is what you are, a Princess of the Green Sun, a peer of the Holy City, an Exalted of the true masters of Creation."_

Farnese was feeling overwhelmed. Instead of asking for further explanation she picked up one of the fragments lying around. It looked to be made of spun silver and was in the process of dissolving into nothingness. "What is this thing?"

" _I would say these are the remnants of our chrysalis. I was told to expect something like this. There is no need to worry, the pieces will disappear soon."_

"Chrysalis?"

" _You have been remade in body and soul in order to wield the power you now carry, my lady. That required some time and my independent existence. Depending on the time of the year we spent either one or five days inside. Since I can see stars I think it safe to assume it isn't Calibration."_

Farnese blinked in confusion. "What is calibration?"

For several seconds there was silence. _"The time between years when there are no stars in the sky, no sun or moon. Day never breaks, but night fails to fall as the Loom of Fate is reset and newly calibrated. That calibration, you know?"_

"I don't have the faintest idea what you are talking about."

" _You do not… Surely my lady is making a jest?"_

"No, I don't. Why would I?"

" _Oh. Oh dear."_ Once again there was silence.

"Aerinian, what is the matter?" Farnese received no answer. "Aerinian?"

" _I apologize, my lady. It seems there is a slight problem with the information I have been provided with. Not to worry. I'm sure we will figure out everything in time."_

"OVER THERE!"

The loud shout drew Farnese' attention back to the outside world. A group of three mounted knights was galloping towards her. She noted that the glow around her had died down considerably, but she was still illuminating her surroundings. The knights would have been able to spot her from far away in the dark night.

When the three men came to a stop before her they hesitated, staring at her with wide eyes. Farnese realized that she was completely naked and, more importantly, glowing with green and silver light. That would pose trouble. If she wasn't careful it might be misinterpreted as witchcraft, ending with her burned on the stake. She had burned enough heretics to know how such things went. Besides, this was a genuine miracle and she couldn't allow her leadership of the knights to be questioned if she wanted to continue doing God's work.

In that moment one of the knights, Frederico she thought was his name, found his tongue. "Lady Farnese! You are still alive? We feared the worst. It has been two days. What happened?"

"An angel appeared and saved me from death." Farnese smiled serenely as she felt power lacing her words. "God has bestowed me with a holy mission. It is a miracle."

The knights looked at each other hesitantly. That was good; at least they didn't do anything hasty.

"What are you waiting for? Bring me back to camp. And give me a cloak," she ordered.

It took longer than Farnese would have liked for them to react to her order (and a half-whispered 'let Sir Azan deal with her'), but a short time later she was finally on the way back to the main camp. She even stopped glowing after a while, although there still seemed to be a source of illumination on her forehead.

" _That would be your caste mark, I believe. It signifies your fealty to the Lawgiver. It should fade in a little while. My princess, could I trouble you for an explanation? I confess I am unfamiliar with the affairs of your world in general and your exact circumstances in particular, your worthiness aside. You need not speak; I can hear your thoughts."_

' _What do you wish to know?'_

" _I already gathered these people are your subordinates, my princess. I would be thankful if you would elaborate."_

' _These are some of my knights. I am the commander of the Knights of the Holy Iron Chain, the premier knightly order of the Holy Church.'_ And because it wouldn't be right to lie to an angel even by omission she added, _'In truth, the order was considered ceremonial and hardly ever saw combat. The members are spoiled sons of important nobles who wished to avoid any serious confrontation and have a fast but uneventful career. By tradition the order is commanded by a woman and since I belong to the powerful Vandimion family I was chosen to lead it three years ago.'_

There was thoughtful humming in Farnese's head. _"I understand, my princess. Thank you for the explanation. If you permit I have more questions I wish to ask, but I think we are nearing our destination."_

Farnese looked up and saw it was true. She could see the lights of the camp in the distance. One of the knights rode ahead to announce them. Thankfully most of the camp was asleep so only a few had gathered by the time she arrived, headed by Sir Azan.

Azan's eyes widened when he got a good look at her. She could tell he was looking at the mark on her forehead. Then he went to a knee. "Lady Farnese. Thank God you have returned. We feared for your life."

"God granted me a miracle. An angel saved me." She gestured towards her forehead. "This is the sign of his favor."

The old knight stared at her with an unreadable expression. Farnese met his gaze calmly.

"I see." Azan shook himself. "You must be cold, Lady Farnese. Please, come with me. Filipe, help the commander dismount."

Farnese let the knight help her dismount and followed Azan, but her thoughts were on another matter. It was true, the night was very cold. She could see the fogging breath of the men and she was only wearing a borrowed cloak. Yet, she only felt the cold in an abstract sense. She knew it was there, but it didn't bother her in the slightest. Neither did the occasional sharp stone on the ground. Then she remembered something else.

"Where is Serpico?"

"In the surgeon's tent, recovering. We had to tie him down to prevent him from joining the search in spite of his injuries. He followed you yesterday, but his horse stumbled and threw him off. He suffered a nasty head wound."

Farnese stopped in her tracks. Serpico had been her companion and servant since childhood and was perhaps her only friend in the whole world… insofar that she had friends at all.

"How is he?"

"Feverish, but the surgeon and apothecary agree he is on the way to recovery. He is a tough one. We can visit him later, my lady, but we should get you into proper attire first. I imagine some food and drink is necessary as well after your ordeal," Azan said,

"Yes," Farnese agreed even if she was feeling neither hunger nor thirst. She continued walking, but they didn't go where she was expecting. "This isn't my tent."

Azan sighed. "The black swordsman set it on fire when he escaped. The fire spread, but we got it under control before we lost more than a dozen tents. Thankfully there were no deaths, but multiple knights and grooms were injured. I had this tent set aside for you. Forgive me, Commander."

Farnese shook her head. How much damage could a single man do? "I see."

"I will wait outside until you are ready, my lady."

Entering the tent, Farnese saw that some of her luggage had found its way here, but much was missing. A field table complete with four stools was in the center of the tent. Her armor was standing in the corner, looking scorched but largely intact. It was perhaps fortunate that she had not unloaded everything from the pack mules when they made camp. She picked out new clothing before discarding the cloak.

When Farnese washed off the dust she noticed all her injuries were gone. The last day was mostly a haze interspersed with stark terror, but she was sure she had been badly sun burnt at least. Then again, God had remade her according to the angel. Injuries disappearing was only to be expected.

' _I can't afford to get distracted.'_

The time to get cleaned up offered only a short respite. She needed a plan. The danger of being denounced as a witch or heretic was not over. Sir Azan was perhaps the most important to convince. The younger knights would follow his lead. The old man was not only a knight, he was a priest as well.

' _What can I tell him?'_

Farnese doubted he would easily believe her about the shadow monsters in the darkness. In his position she certainly wouldn't. That portion of the events she would keep to herself. Most of the rest was believable enough, with the exception of Aerinian's appearance. Keeping the fact that something beyond normal had happened was impossible to keep secret thanks to her anima and caste mark.

On the other hand, there were enough accounts of angels appearing before holy men in the desert mentioned in scripture. She knew Azan. The man was honorable to a fault and wanted to believe the best of his fellow knights, which included her. Something close to the truth would probably serve her best. Yet, for that to work she would have to trust him. That would be difficult. Despite serving together for three years she wasn't close to anyone aside from Serpico.

When Farnese was finished dressing and couldn't delay any longer she took a deep breath. "Sir Azan, you may come in now."

Azan entered, a jug and a plate of food in hand. She gestured to the table. "Please, take a seat."

The big man settled down, looking very uncomfortable. "Lady Farnese, forgive me my impudence, but I have to ask: What happened to you while you were gone? You are changed. The mark on your forehead… your hair…"

"My hair? What about it?"

Azan made to say something several times until he finally found the words. "It is silver."

For a moment Farnese stared at Azan uncomprehendingly. Then she pulled a few strands of her hair in front of her eyes. The knight had spoken true. Her formerly blonde hair was now silver. Not grey like that of old people, but a true, gleaming metallic color.

For the first time since arriving in the camp Aerinian's voice intruded. _"This is a side-effect of our union, I believe. My masters mentioned the possibility of minor physical changes."_

"I… I don't know. This is the first time I noticed it." Farnese took a deep breath. She had to stay on track. She **needed** to convince Azan. "You wanted to know what happened to me, Sir Azan. The black swordsman surprised me in my tent and knocked me out. I woke up bound and slung over his horse somewhere in the desert. The horse threw us off a bit later. We didn't move during the night. Come morning, the black swordsman left because he had no use for me any longer."

Since Azan nodded in acceptance Farnese continued, "I tried to find the way back, but I had no idea where I was. Then the sandstorm started. I barely managed to find cover in a crevice in the mountainside. When the sandstorm stopped it was already growing dark. I tried to walk further, but I couldn't. I was so weak from sunburn, hunger, thirst and exhaustion that I couldn't walk another step. I thought I would die. Then an angel appeared before me."

"An angel?"

"A beautiful figure wreathed in holy flames. He spoke to me. I have been chosen by God as Heaven's champion. He healed my wounds and gave me God's blessing. When I woke again the knights found me." Farnese paused a moment to catch breath and calm herself. The memory made her heart beat faster. "The world is broken, Sir Azan. I will fix it. I do not yet know how, but I will. God has granted me power. This mark is a symbol of it. It signifies my fealty to…"

" _Cecelyne, the Endless Desert, the Lawgiver."_

"… one of God's highest angels. Please, Sir Azan, I ask for your help. Two years ago you saw the red lake of blood. You saw the carnage the black swordsman has left behind. You know the prophecy of the coming darkness. You, I and the knights, we will stand against it. Can I count on you?"

Farnese fell silent. This had taken a lot out of her. Now it was up to Azan. The man had intently followed her every word. Now he was sitting back, a look of deep contemplation on his borad, bearded face. Farnese forced herself to stay still. Saying more wouldn't help.

Finally, after almost two minutes Azan broke the silence. "I believe you. You have never lied to me in the three years I have served under your command." He took a deep breath. "Others in the church might not see it that way."

Farnese nodded somberly even as relief flooded her. "I know. There is the danger of me being branded a heretic. The mark on my forehead is particularly problematic. It will disappear soon, although it and my light will reappear if I begin to fully use the power God has granted me."

"We cannot keep it secret. Too many of the knights have seen you. People talk." Azan tugged at his mustache. "Perhaps it would be best if we don't deny anything, but announce only part of the truth. God has performed a miracle by saving you from death in the desert. The stories will grow on their own. Soon it will simply be one tale among others. Many in the church will dismiss such a claim as self-aggrandizement and give it no further thought."

Farnese smiled, a little wryly. "That is true. We both know how few people in the higher echelons of the church truly believe in God's teachings."

Azan hesitated, looking even more uncomfortable than before."Do you plan on demanding any changes in doctrine?"

"No. The Vandimion name offers me protection, but I'm not stupid enough to think I could get away with such a thing." Farnese sighed. "Besides, I do not yet know what to do. We have followed the black swordsman's trail for two years. Can we continue to follow him?"

The old knight shook his head. "The sandstorm buried all tracks. We would have to begin the search anew somewhere else. That is, if we hear of a sighting in time to get there and pick up the trail. I do not consider that likely to happen anytime soon. Additionally, we lost a lot of supplies to the fire that man started. We need to reprovision. Then there is the matter of our recent losses…"

Farnese winced. "Yes. I will have to answer to the Vatican council for the deaths and report our failure." There was little choice to be had in light of the state of things. She didn't look forward to that conversation. Her failure probably wasn't serious enough to warrant her removal as commander of the knights, but she would lose influence and goodwill. "We will return to the Vatican as soon as the wounded are fit for transport. Now I wish to visit Serpico and the other wounded."

"As you command, Lady Farnese." Azan stood up. "I see the mark on your forehead is fading now."

Without a mirror Farnese couldn't check, but when she held her hand before her face she saw the reflected glow gutter out and disappear.

' _Good. That will make things easier.'_

The camp was mostly dark and quiet. Only a few torches lit the night. She could see a few guards making their rounds. After a quiet chat with the helpers in the sick tent and looking at each patient she sent Sir Azan away.

Finally alone, Farnese sat down at Serpico's side. Her servant looked awfully weak and frail in the lantern light, his head swaddled in bandages. She took a wet cloth and wiped his sweat away. It reminded her of the time when they had first met so many years ago, when they both had been children. When traveling in her carriage she had spied the then-unknown boy lying half-dead in the snow in an alley, beaten black and blue. It had only been a whim that she took him back to her mansion. She had performed the same service back then.

"You aren't allowed to die, Serpico. You belong to me. You swore to it. Remember?" Farnese whispered.

Very slowly Serpico's eyes opened. "Lady Farnese. You are back? Is this a dream?"

"No dream, Serpico," she said even as the man's eyes closed again. "No dream at all."

Farnese couldn't help but smile. God had revealed himself to her and chosen her as his champion. At long last she had found her purpose in life. For the first time she felt she had control over her own destiny.


	2. Chapter 2

**Threads of Fate**

 **Chapter 2: A fallen maiden makes a discovery**

A dark silhouette was illuminated from behind.

"Marriage? Bu… This is… so sudden…"

"Do you object? I think this would be best for you, Farnese. I have heard of this tendency of yours to force a duel at every ball you attend. You are my only daughter and I think perhaps I left you alone too much. You are sixteen years old, and it is high time you learned to act like a lady."

"B-but… Fath-"

"Your groom is a member of a certain royal family and of a forgiving disposition. He agreed to our proposal even though he knew of your predilections. Surely, I do not have to explain how the Vandimion family would benefit from such a match. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Father."

…

At her secret spot in the woods, the cold winter air bit into her bare skin.

"Lady Farnese!"

Serpico had come, as he always did. She half-stumbled, half-fell against him, burying her face in his chest.

"I won't… I won't leave here. Out there… I can't live anywhere but here. Unless… You were to run away with me. If you… took me. We are both so warped..."

For an endless moment they stood silently, as close together as possible, their hands intertwined. Then, Serpico removed his hands from hers and gently but firmly pushed her away. When she looked into his face there was only determination there.

She ran, crying, as her world crumbled completely.

…

"Fire! The mansion! The mistress has gone mad!"

Blue. Red. Yellow. White. The flames danced so prettily. So did she amidst the inferno.

Then, Serpico was there and swept her off her feet. A moment later the chandelier crashed where she had just stood. Safe, she closed her eyes.

…

"Foolish girl. I never thought you'd… We can't allow word of this matter to spread. It would soil the Vandimion name. The wedding is canceled." Not once did her father look at her. "That girl is a devil. Take her off my hands."

…

The bells of the convent tolled. They knew everything. Devil, devil, devil, they said.

…

Farnese woke with a start. For a moment she didn't know where she was. Then she recognized the sick tent and felt God's strength inside her. Serpico was lying on the cot in front of her, sleeping uneasily.

She breathed a sigh of relief. _'It was only a dream. I must have fallen asleep for a moment.'_

It had been a long time since she last dreamed of that terrible day three years ago, the day the relationship between her and Serpico had returned to master and servant. They had grown closer again sometime later, but their relationship had never returned to what it once was. These days she barely thought about it at all. Although, one question had stayed with her for a long time.

"Why did you reject me, Serpico?" Farnese whispered to the sleeping man. She didn't really expect an answer, but Serpico seemed to hear her and became more agitated.

Farnese could see his lips moving and leant close to understand the words.

"This, sir? It is only a pendant with the image of my parents inside."

' _A pendant? The one he always wears?'_

"Yes, sir, I understand. There are already three male heirs. I won't tell anyone, I promise," Serpico mumbled, his voice finally fading into silence.

Farnese stared at Serpico for long seconds. _'Already three male heirs…'_ It couldn't be a coincidence. Yet, she needed certainty.

It took Farnese only a few moments to find the pendent among Serpico's things stashed near the cot. She opened it. Inside, she saw the miniature picture of a man and a woman. The woman she didn't recognize, but the man… the man looked like a much younger, beardless version of her own father.

Slowly and silently, she closed the pendant and put it back where she had found it. Then she stepped out of the tent into the cool, moon-lit darkness of the night. There was a storm of emotion inside her. She needed some quiet to think.

So late in the night only a few guards were still awake, but they didn't seem to notice Farnese as she left the confines of the camp. She didn't plan to walk far, just far enough that there were several giant boulders between her and the camp. Since the area of boulders came up against one of the sheer rock spires that dominated this area of the mountains there were no further guards posted here.

Farnese suddenly came to a stop when she spotted something in the shadows. "Who's there?"

When no answer came forth she drew her sword and carefully stepped closer. Once she got a closer look she relaxed and put her sword back into the scabbard. Someone had carved a crude laughing face into one of the giant rocks and the shadows made it seem as if a human was standing there.

This seemed to be as good a spot as any other and she sat down on a boulder.

Farnese felt like laughing and crying at the same time. She had a fourth brother, or rather a half-brother. It explained so much. The rejection… the fact that her father had seen fit to bestow a minor noble title on Serpico. She wondered if that man had arranged everything.

' _No, I cannot believe that.'_

Their first encounter had been pure chance, of that Farnese was absolutely sure. If she had not looked out of the carriage's window and called a stop Serpico would have died in the snow. Her father had been absent when she decided to keep Serpico as her servant. If she remembered right it had been months before he returned to the city, perhaps even a year. By the time he could speak with Serpico the boy had already endured for far longer than any of her previous companions and personal servants had.

' _Did he know whose daughter I was? Did he only stay with me because he knew this was his best and only chance to be recognized by Father? Or did he only discover it when he saw the face of Father? Did he only stay after that because of the rewards Father promised?'_

These were questions only Serpico could answer… and Farnese wasn't sure she wanted to know. Yet, one thing remained certain: Serpico had known for many years and never told her that she was his half-sister.

They had been together for over half their lives and he had kept such an important fact from her the entire time.

She had trusted him above all others and he never told her a single thing.

He had rejected her and never told her why.

She had loved him.

Anger boiled up inside Farnese, hot and bitter. It was such a betrayal.

"Are you laughing at me?" she challenged the carving. Some part of her knew it was silly, but her anger only increased. She furiously swiped her hand in the direction of the offending carving. "Go away!"

In that moment silver sand and green flames erupted from thin air and struck the rock face with a crackling sound.

A moment later the nightly silence returned.

Farnese stared at the gouged and scorched rock where the face had been. Then she stared at her hand. Then back at the rock. The surprise made her anger disappear.

"What just happened?"

" _The power of the All-Makers now dwells within you, my princess. As it appears to me you are capable of using the fires of the King and the sands of the Lawgiver to strike at your enemies."_

Farnese shook her head in an effort to clear her mind. She had almost forgotten the angel in her head.

"What do you mean?"

" _As it was explained to me before I was entrusted with my mission, six of the All-Makers have elected to share their essence with their prospective champions. In time and as you grow into your role you will partake more and more in this power."_

That brought Farnese up short. She had not forgotten. How could she? Her anima banner and caste mark had been rather noticeable. The feeling of inner strength inside her was a constant reminder ever since she had awoken in the desert, too. What she had not expected was to suddenly gain the ability to summon bursts of burning sand. Of course, she had yet to find the time to think deeply about everything. Too much was happening.

"What else am I capable of?"

" _I fear it will be up to you to explore the particulars, at least until we manage to communicate with someone of sufficient status in the Holy City. The secrets of the creators of the world are not for one such as me to know, my princess, but I will do my best to give advice in the meantime. But perhaps we should talk about this and your mission another time. You are in distress_."

Farnese took a deep breath to calm herself. Her anger had cooled somewhat, but, yes, she was still deeply off balance. Despite the rejection three years ago Serpico had been the pillar of her strength, someone she thought she could rely on completely in each and every circumstance. If this revelation had come at another time she didn't know what she would have done. Maybe she would have broken down and done something stupid, as she had when he had rejected her.

As things were the events of the last days had already upended her understanding of how the world worked. She had seen the monsters in the darkness. She had witnessed the unnatural strength of the black swordsman. She had failed herself and her faith. She had almost died. She had met an angel and been chosen as a champion of God.

Serpico keeping such a secret was just another revelation, one that almost but not quite paled in comparison to the rest. It was another blow, but one that hit her in a state of numbness. She could weather it now that she had the power of God and the advice of an angel to rely on.

"Yes. I never expected something like this, not from Serpico. He has been my loyal servant and companion since so long ago…" Farnese paused for a few moments before she added, "I think I loved him, once."

" _Love means pain, my princess. If you love something it will inevitably be taken from you and you will suffer for its absence. This is one of the fundamental truths of the world as the Silent Wind teaches. Yet, to be free of suffering would require forever avoiding all attachments and who can manage such a thing?"_

There was truth in that statement, Farnese found, even if she wasn't sure she agreed completely. "Does that mean I will lose you one day, too? Or will this power be taken from me?"

Aerinian produced a thoughtful hum. _"I suppose not everything. As far as I know only your death can separate you from me and your power. By then such a thing would hardly matter, would it not?"_

That made Farnese chuckle. "I suppose so."

" _If I may be so bold to ask, my princess, what services has this Serpico performed for you in the past? What is his value to you, beyond the emotional attachment?"_

"Serpico is my personal servant. He knows my secrets. He is also the best duelist I know."

" _A valuable follower, then. Has he given any indication that he has divided loyalties or ulterior motives?"_

"No. He was always there when I needed him." Farnese sighed. "Apart from that one time he has never failed to do what I wanted from him. If he had not spoken in his fever I would never have even suspected that he was keeping something from me." She sighed a second time. "Now I fear he is reporting to my father behind my back."

" _Then, perhaps it is best to let the matter lie for now, my princess. Loyal, capable retainers are not easy to come by and should not be wasted. You can confront him once he is able to answer coherently and get to the bottom of this secret."_

Farnese considered the proposal. It seemed to be a good idea. Until Serpico healed all she had was speculation. She was still hurt and angry, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

She took a few minutes to collect herself before she walked back to the camp. Once again none of the distant guards noticed her as she slipped through the perimeter and back into the sick tent. Serpico's condition seemed to be still the same: a restless fever sleep.

For a while she simply tended to Serpico, but before long the simple task stopped to fully occupy her. There just wasn't much she could do at this point. She considered returning to her own tent and try and get some sleep, but she felt well-rested enough that this seemed a futile endeavor.

Then Aerinian made himself known. _"If you have some idle time you could perhaps tell me more about your past, my princess. I know very little about human affairs. If I am to serve as your guide I will need to remedy this lack of knowledge sooner rather than later."_

Farnese felt something like a stab of pain in her heart. The request was reasonable, but Serpico was so entwined with everything in her past that talking about it would be difficult. _'What do you want to know?'_

" _You said you took over command over these knights three years ago. I would like to hear what you have done since then."_

Farnese felt relief. That topic she was more comfortable talking about. She did so.

Three years ago she had been appointed as the commander of the Knights of the Holy Iron Chains not too long after her father had shipped her off to the convent. It was purely politics. The tradition of the knight's commander being a woman and her family name were all the reasons the upper echelons of the church needed.

By chance, that winter heretics set fire to the churches and noblemen's mansions throughout the Vatican City. Though the Knights of the Holy Iron Chains served mainly as ceremonial guards they were sent forth to subjugate the heresy.

' _I placed myself right at the front of the army as we hunted down the heretics.'_

Farnese remembered that time well. So many people burned at the stake at her command. Countless women and men, old and young. Children as well. So many beautiful pyres.

' _My superiors in the church praised my devotion. They were nearly speechless with admiration.'_

It was more difficult to recall the exact heresy in question. Something about the distribution of wealth and all being equal in God's eye. The church had been quick to condemn it. Entire families had been put on trial and annihilated rather than letting a single heretic escape.

" _And rightly so, my princess. Such heresies are a grave offence against the Lawgiver and the Principle of Hierarchy both. I am glad to hear there are still humans who hold up the true law in this fallen age."_

Farnese nodded in acceptance before continuing her tale. The hunts, trials and burnings had progressed until she finally found the leaders of the heresy hiding in a sanatorium.

She stopped for a moment. Now, her memories reached a painful part involving Serpico. After another moment of thought she decided to skip it. It wasn't important right now.

After finally stamping out the heresy the knights returned to their usual ceremonial duties with the favor of their superiors.

Then something changed. Reports of evil spirits inhabiting rivers, mountains and the like popped up everywhere. Those who had encountered the strangeness poured into the Vatican in increasing numbers. There were too many people to dismiss the rumors as unfounded.

' _I asked for the duty to investigate. There was a prophecy as well.'_ It was easy to recall the exact words. _'The fifth sign of the apocalypse, the sun's death. The red lake exists by the eastern cities new and old. It brings the Dark Hawk, the fifth to descend. The blind king of the white sheep serves as shepherd to the villainy of the black sheep and he calls forth an era of darkness upon the world.'_

It had taken them almost a year of searching and following trails of suspicious murders and strange sightings, but the first part of the prophecy came true. The sun was eclipsed while they traveled near the border of the kingdom of Midland. Shortly thereafter they encountered the red lake – a lake of blood. It had been a normal lake originally, but there were so many body parts of men and horses drifting across it that they had colored the water a solid red. There had been hundreds of fresh corpses, although it was difficult to tell the exact number. The bodies were all torn to pieces.

' _After that more reports of strange happenings arrived. There was but one thing common between all of them: the black swordsman. The scale of carnage he left in his wake was nearly unbelievable.'_

Farnese had to suppress a shudder. No single man should be able to kill so many, but now that she had actually met the swordsman and seen him fight she had no trouble believing it.

' _We tracked him for two years, but he always slipped away before we could catch up. A couple of days ago we arrived at a nearby village. They were burying the burned remains of dozens of children. Their village priest told me that children had been disappearing for years while elves attacked. The black swordsman was there. When he killed the elves they turned into children.'_

They had resumed their pursuit with the help of local guide. Apparently the goal was a place called Misty Valley. Along the way they had come upon another mountain of corpses, all slain by the same weapon: a sword of ridiculous size that no man should be able to lift. In the valley they found two children still alive, many, many dead… and the black swordsman.

Farnese related how they had finally caught up with the man, how despite his apparently weakened state he held off their entire force and slew several knights, how he made a last dash towards her when he couldn't beat Sir Azan.

The memory frightened her. She had come so close to dying. Despite her long service she barely knew how to hold a sword, let alone fight properly. Still, somehow she had managed to wound the man after which he collapsed, allowing them to take him prisoner.

Then came the part Farnese liked least to remember, but she might as well give a full accounting. Her attempt at interrogation, her abduction, the monsters in the darkness, her failure to stand against the darkness, her almost-death and finally Aerinian's appearance, she held nothing back. Finally there was nothing more to tell.

" _This was quite a tale, my princess. I thank you for this. I noticed the retelling was not easy on you."_

Suddenly Farnese realized something. She and her knights had been following a prophecy. Now she had an angel in her head who could give explanations. _'Aerinian, can you tell me something? What is the black swordsman? His strength is not from this world. Is he truly the harbinger of the apocalypse?'_

" _I… am not sure, my princess. I never had dealings with the world of mortals before I was chosen for the task of carrying the All-Makers' power to someone worthy. I know of no such prophecy. The time between my masters entrusting me with this holy power and me appearing before you is a blur. I only became truly aware of my surroundings again when I appeared before you."_

Farnese didn't know what to say. She had certainly not expected such an answer.

" _It may very well be that this black swordsman is more than a simple man. His deeds certainly are beyond what is to be expected from a mortal. Yet, the Creators of All have not seen fit to mention him when they gave me my mission. I can only conclude that he is not truly your concern, at least as long as he is not directly hindering you."_

' _Then what exactly is my task?'_

" _I do not yet know, my princess. It will come to you in a vision during the next days, I expect. Until we know more I recommend you make no great displays of your power. There are those in the world who will wish you harm."_

Farnese was about to ask more, but just then Sir Azan entered the tent. Surprise showed on his broad face. "Lady Farnese, have you spent the entire night here?"

She blinked in confusion. Was it already morning? She had not noticed how quickly time passed.

Meanwhile, Azan was apparently taking her silence as admission. "Your dedication to duty and care for the men is exemplary, commander, especially so shortly after your ordeal, but is it really wise to forego a night of rest?"

Farnese shook her head. "I was not tired."

If Azan didn't believe her he didn't show any sign of that on his face. "I was about to visit the injured before heading to the morning prayer. It would be a good opportunity to announce your return as well. Will you accompany me, Lady Farnese?"

Farnese hesitated. She didn't really want to leave Serpico, but it was customary to at least attend the communal prayer if not lead it. More importantly, the men needed to see that she was alive and well. She looked back at the sleeping man. Serpico seemed to be doing better than during the night. That made the decision easier.

"I will."

Following Azan, Farnese made a round through the sick tent. Most of the patients were still sleeping, but some were awake. Azan found some encouraging words for them and Farnese tried to emulate the example. They seemed to appreciate the attention.

"It is good to see our brave men recovering. Five of them aren't fit for transport yet, but we need to leave this place soon or we will run out of water. The spring nearby is too small for so many people and animals," Azan said when they left the tent. "If we divide our forces and send an advance party we can stretch out the time by a couple of days."

Farnese nodded in acceptance. She rarely cared about the intricacies of such matters, leaving them to Sir Azan.

The sky at the eastern horizon was steadily growing brighter. As Farnese watched the camp come to life she wondered. Something felt different about the world. It was hard to put into words, but there just seemed to be so much more to every sensation, so many details she had never noticed. At the same time there were the broad strokes, connections and meanings she had always overlooked.

' _Why is everything so different?'_

" _That would be because your essence has been awakened, my princess. Mortals are blind and deaf to the true nature of the world. As far as I know only a very few reach some meager measure of enlightenment. You, in contrast, have been elevated far above them. You can now feel and shape essence,"_ the angel in her head said.

' _Essence?'_

" _Everything is essence and essence is everything. It is the substance of the world and the energy that flows through it."_

Farnese wanted to ask more questions, but they had reached the field of prayer. A pole with god's symbol had been erected at one end of it. The stylized bird in flight emerging from a sphere, with two orbs forming a helix around it, was a comforting sight.

In truth Farnese preferred to pray privately before the smaller icon in her own tent, but duty required her participating in at least one of the daily communal prayers more often than not.

Slowly more and more people arrived. Farnese felt their stares. At least she couldn't hear the whispers over the noise of the wind. She returned their stares in kind, measuring them up. A sudden irritating burning in her eyes made her blink.

Nothing. They were nothing. Nothing besides human blandness, a dim irrelevant ember smoldering inside each of them, almost disappearing against her flame.

Farnese blinked again, the world returning to normal. She struggled to show no outward sign of the sudden, unexpected sensations.

' _What was that?'_

" _Another of the All-Makers' gifts, I think. As I said earlier, mortals cannot compare to you, my ardent princess."_

When would the revelations stop, Farnese wondered. So much had happened that she was constantly feeling overwhelmed. Shoving these thoughts aside for the moment, Farnese returned to the task of trying to gauge the mood of the slowly gathering crowd.

Judging from the faces she could make out, the predominant emotion was relief at seeing her returned. There was shame as well. Some people didn't seem to care at all, or maybe had just better control.

When Farnese felt everyone who was about to come had arrived she raised her voice, feeling the strength inside her buoying her up.

"My fellow knights, I have returned, safe and sound. God has granted us a miracle. He saved me from the vile black swordsman and certain death in the desert. Although the villain escaped, I survived against all odds. I stand before you as a proof of his divine grace.

We have lost comrades to the villain's blade and many were injured by his cowardly arson. The swordsman escaped us; that is true, but the sacrifice of our comrades was not in vain. We have learned what we set out to: The swordsman is real and he is more than an ordinary man. With this goal achieved we will head back to the Vatican to make our report. Now, let us pray."

Farnese proceeded to lead the assembly. Her dislike of communal prayer notwithstanding, it was one of her duties she was genuinely good at.

Soon enough the prayer was finished and the men began to disperse. From what scraps of conversation Farnese caught while she walked with Azan she thought her speech had been well-received. Most of the knights and grooms were happy to finally return home. Her new silver hair was a big topic as well, something she was not particularly fond of. Unfortunately there was nothing she could do to curb such talk without making the problem worse.

A few minutes later Farnese, Azan and several senior knights gathered in the command tent, maps of the various kingdoms spread out on a table and food on another. It was time to plan the route they would take back to the Vatican. Normally she would have left the details to Azan after giving the order, but she felt she needed to be seen doing her duty more than usual.

Azan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I see three ways to proceed. Firstly, we can backtrack our way through the border states. The roads are very poor and the route will be very circuitous. Secondly, we can go through the Chuder Empire. They claim the desert at the foot of the mountains. There should be no obstructions on the way, meaning easy travel. Thirdly, we can go into Chuder, but immediately head towards the Midland border. That would be the most direct route, but I heard bad things about the general conditions in Midland."

Farnese listened to the knights debating the matter for a time. Most seemed to favor traveling through Chuder.

There were some good arguments, but she didn't look forward to dallying needlessly. "I have decided. We will travel through Midland. At best we will save two weeks. At worst we will arrive a few days later than if we had gone through Chuder."

Azan hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Of course, Commander."

Then it was time to organize the details, of who to send on the advance party, exactly which roads to take, which nobles were worth visiting, where to buy new provisions, where to erect the camps on the way and so forth. In truth Farnese found these minutiae of running the knights rather burdensome, especially because she wasn't able to contribute much or anything at all.

Normally, that was. Farnese didn't know the reason, but everything was just making more sense than usual. She listened attentively while Azan and the other senior knights discussed and planned. It went on for hours, including an interruption for the noon meal.

It was late afternoon before Farnese found the time to return to Serpico's side. He was still sleeping, but it seemed more restful and the fever had gone down.

' _Aerinian, am I able to heal people?'_ Farnese asked silently, the idea just having occurred to her.

" _I do not know, my princess. Perhaps you should simply try?"_

Over the next few minutes Farnese tried a variety of things from silent prayer to laying on of hands, but there was no visible reaction. Apparently healing people was not among the gifts she had been granted. It was a bit disappointing.

Farnese considering staying for a while longer, but she was growing tired. Serpico at least seemed to improving and it was perhaps not the wisest idea to show that much favor anyway.

"I want to be informed at once if Serpico wakes up," she ordered the men attending to the injured.

"As you command, Lady Farnese."

Back in her tent, Farnese sunk into a chair. She was suddenly feeling very tired. The sleepless night was really making itself felt now. Still, if she went to sleep now she would probably wake in the middle of the night. Then she noticed her still scorched armor.

Farnese sighed. Caring for these things was normally Serpico's task – or at least organizing that it got done. Now, she could probably call a groom. That would leave her with nothing to do for the rest of the day. She could always question Aerinian – there was so much she had to learn and so many questions to ask.

On the other hand, so much had happened and her head was swimming. Learning even more didn't sound appealing at the moment. Perhaps a nice, simple task like cleaning her armor would help pass the time until she was ready for sleep.

' _It can't be that difficult, right?'_

Farnese found the proper cleaning supplies among her baggage after some searching. Then she went to work. Taking a metal brush to the steel was indeed not particularly difficult and she soon found a rhythm of her own. The angel in her head began singing softly in tune with the rhythm. For a moment Farnese was surprised, but then she recovered. She didn't understand the words, but the song was in tune with the strokes of her brush.

By the time the sun neared the horizon the armor had been freed from the soot.

Farnese let out a long breath after she put the armor back on its stand. "This was a little harder than I thought it would be."

Deciding to take a walk before going to sleep, Farnese stepped out of the tent. She came to an abrupt stop when she encountered three guards outside, two more than usual.

The men saluted. "Lady Farnese. Sir Azan has ordered you are to be guarded at all times."

Farnese was about to object, then thought better of it. She didn't think it likely anyone would attempt to abduct her again from amidst the camp (and if someone tried he would get a face full of burning sand), but it was understandable that Sir Azan was worried. Or perhaps she was just too tired to argue.

"I wish to take a walk around the camp. It shouldn't take long."

Two of the knights walked behind her as she made a round through the camp. She tried to ignore them, focusing on the men in the camp instead. Preparations for two thirds of the knights to leave in the morning were well underway. Everyone seemed happy that they were finally returning home.

When she spotted the graves at the edge of the camp she corrected herself. Not everyone would return home. It was another crime to lay at the feet of the black swordsman.

' _I will find you and then I will kill you, Black Hawk. I will not allow your age of darkness to come to pass.'_

She tried the best not to consciously acknowledge another reason for this. The black swordsman had seen her weakness, her failure. His lips would have to be sealed forever. Deciding she had seen enough, she headed back to her tent.

Farnese's dreams that night were the strangest she ever had. Some part of her was aware that she was dreaming as she wandered the empty streets of a brazen city, a green sun overhead while gusts of wind drove clouds of silver sand from the buildings. Music of transcendent beauty was in the air, but there was no sign of the musician to be seen.

* * *

People saw it as they slept. It was villages being decimated by the plague, and the country being overrun by an army that rode on great beasts. It was cities being smashed by earthquakes, and towns being swallowed by raging torrents. It was the sun being hidden by black clouds and groups of people wandering about, starving. It was the dead bodies of parents and children, and the bodies of neighbors. It was experienced by all in their own way, but there was only one message. Every night people found themselves cloaked in an intense darkness, which spread out over the world.

And from within the chaos… a shining hawk swooped down to the bloodstained earth, tearing asunder the veil of darkness. They knew it intuitively: This was the messiah.


	3. Chapter 3

**Threads of Fate**

 **Chapter 3: A fallen maiden stumbles upon a thread**

"The white hawk? Did you dream of him as well?"

"You too?"

Farnese frowned slightly while she watched the advance party set out after the morning prayer. Many in the camp were talking about dreaming of the darkness and a white hawk. She would have called it a sign from God, if not for the fact that she had not dreamed of it at all. Her dreams had been about the strange city she had seen in the vision accompanying her exaltation.

The words of the shadow monster came to mind. _You are too far from God_. Yet, that didn't make sense. She was God's champion. Shouldn't she be the first to receive any important visions?

" _That is true, my princess, but the Creators of All are hardly the only ones able to send dream visions."_

' _Really?'_

" _Oh, yes. There are many things you have to learn about your new station and the world, my princess. Perhaps we should begin with a problem I noticed. I think there are some issues of communication between us."_

Farnese hesitated. What did Aerinian mean?

" _I did not speak your language before we met, my princess. It is only by the grace of the All-Makers that I learned it on the spot. There might be misunderstandings because I have trouble conveying the proper meanings in your language. This is important since I feel you want me to ask far-reaching questions."_

Farnese had to suppress a nod. It was hard to talk silently with someone no one else could see. There were all sorts of little gestures that happened almost unconsciously. The last thing she needed was for her knights to think she had gone mad.

There was an important question that she should have asked yesterday, but it had slipped her mind under the stress of, well, everything. Her head felt much clearer today. A full night of sleep could work wonders.

' _Aerinian, what did you say about the world being broken and God being imprisoned? Before I accepted, I mean.'_

" _Ah. This is a sad tale, but one you indeed need to know. Unfortunately, it is also one that will suffer the most from our language issue and one that will distress you greatly. Perhaps we should talk when you are alone?"_

Farnese grudgingly agreed. She wanted, no, needed an answer, but she didn't want to risk letting her self-control slip. It was an agonizingly long time before she finally returned to her tent.

"Well?" Farnese asked in a whisper, kneeling before her private icon.

" _The King no longer resides in his heaven. There was a terrible war a long, long time ago that upended the proper order and broke the world. Now he is bound away from this broken world along with his loyal subjects, jailed and maimed."_

"No," Farnese whispered. "It cannot be."

The world began spinning around her.

" _My princess, please calm yourself."_

She barely heard the angel.

" _Farnese! Remember, you have been chosen to set the world right again and been granted the King's strength."_

"Right, that's right." Whatever the truth, she felt God's power inside her. She took several deep, calming breaths. "How long ago was this war?"

" _A long, long time. Five millennia, perhaps more."_

"Then how can something like the church exist? Our records don't go back that far. How can we do God's work if he cannot reach us?"

" _The prison is not perfect. The All-Creators can still reach out into the dreams of mortals. Their lesser servants like me can slip through cracks back into the world when circumstances are right. I imagine this has caused the formation of your church, although of course there are likely inaccuracies and misunderstandings in your doctrine."_

"So the city I saw is the prison of God?"

" _My princess, I do not think you properly understand. The King_ _ **is**_ _the Holy City. He is vast beyond imagination, as are the other All-Creators. To speak only of those who have granted their power to champions: The Holy City, the Endless Desert, the Silent Wind, the Principle of Hierarchy, the Great Mother Sea and the Shadow of All Things; these are not mere titles, they are descriptions as well."_

Farnese struggled with that information. She remembered the visions and last night's dream. How could she forget them? She just hadn't put things together properly. She felt so tiny in the face of something infinitely greater than her. Then a thought hit her.

"What of those who imprisoned God?"

" _You do not need to concern yourself with them immediately, my princess. Fortunately they fought amongst themselves long ago. The treacherous divinities sit in their stolen heaven, feasting on unearned splendor, content to ignore the world. The Sun Tyrants and Moon Monsters are scattered, their new incarnations ignorant of their dark past. I do not think any of them will hunt you without cause. The children of the dragons are a pale shadow of what they once were, both in strength and numbers. There don't seem to be any in the lands you know and they are usually very obvious. The Chosen of the traitorous Maidens of Fate are the greatest threat to you, my princess, but there is very little I can tell you about them. They deliberately broke the world in a way that hides them and their actions."_

Once again Farnese felt overwhelmed. She only half-understood the answer. It opened so many new questions. What were Sun Tyrants? What Moon Monsters? Obviously there was so much she didn't know, but needed to. "What should I do?"

" _Normally I would recommend going to the Holy City as soon as possible, my princess. The Endless Desert touches all places of desolation. You would simply have to get lost in the nearby wasteland. Meeting those greater than me soon would be for the best. They will be able to answer your questions much better than I. In your case I advise against that, though. I do not believe a several week long absence would be a wise course of action."_

Farnese shook her head. "No, it wouldn't. I can't afford to simply leave for that long, not if I want to maintain my position."

" _Precisely. My proposal would be for me to teach you the language of the Holy City. Knowing it is a necessity for someone of your exalted station and it will further our common understanding. Once you are sufficiently fluent we can move to other topics."_

Farnese agreed, although she wanted to ask more questions of a fundamental nature now instead of later. Still, it seemed a logical choice and she had no fitting reason to argue against it.

The only problem was that learning to speak a language required talking on her part, something she couldn't do while other people were around her. She could hardly sit in her tent the entire time if she didn't want her knights to talk even more than they already did. That left her with a lot of unused time during the day.

" _Perhaps you should try and get closer to this Sir Azan?"_

"Why?"

" _He is your second in command, is he not? He certainly seems to be a capable man and well-respected by your other knights. The more time you spend with him the more secure you will be in your position."_

Farnese considered the proposal. It had merit, although she wouldn't enjoy participating in all the duties Azan took care of, something she would be forced to do.

Perhaps she could ask the old knight for some combat training. Her complete lack of fighting ability had almost gotten her killed against the black swordsman. Even if she could now smite any enemy with God's power learning how to actually use a sword would certainly be worthwhile for when she didn't want to reveal that power. That would require openly admitting her lack of fighting ability, though, something she was loath to do. Admitting to such a weakness at this point could damage her standing. It would certainly hurt her pride.

Farnese considered the matter carefully, weighing the advantages and disadvantages. She simply needed to learn to fight. It would possibly hurt her reputation, but it was something she had to do. Now that she was chosen by God she couldn't allow herself to fail again in any possible way.

Sir Azan was known as the Iron Staff Saint for his skill with his namesake iron staff, but he was experienced with many weapons. Serpico might be a better choice to learn sword fighting from, but even if he woke he wouldn't be able to move a lot for several days at least.

Decision made, Farnese stood up from her kneeling position and headed outside. She found Sir Azan at the edge of the shrunken camp, giving orders to a group of training men.

"Lady Farnese," the old knight acknowledged her, never taking his eyes off the knights but for a moment.

"Sir Azan. I see you are busy. Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all, commander. If you wait a few minutes we will be finished here."

"Very well." She stayed silent while Sir Azan put the men through the drill. It seemed to be an exercise of quickly switching into different formations. Azan shouted commands and occasionally provided more comments.

Finally the men finished, looking exhausted. Some sent her curious looks, but none spoke up as they left the training field. Once they were away far enough for them not to be overheard Azan turned towards her. "What do you wish of me, Lady Farnese?"

Farnese took a deep breath. "I have come to ask you for assistance, Sir Azan. I wish to train my skill with the sword. The recent encounter with the black swordsman has shown me that I have much to learn."

There was much surprise in the man's eyes. He rallied himself quickly, though. "I see. Improving yourself is always admirable. Well, I can only say you have come to the right man, commander. Come with me."

Azan walked to a corner of the training field, taking a wooden sword from a nearby rack and handing it to Farnese. It felt rather heavier than her normal steel sword. After that he led her to one of the wooden posts on the field.

"I will need to see where you stand. Let us look at your basic strokes and go from there."

Farnese closed her eyes for a moment, aware of the onlookers at the edge of the field. "I do not know how. I never learned anything about fighting."

* * *

Azan felt his heart skip a beat. Lady Farnese did not know how to wield a sword. She had never learned how to fight.

Once the shocking realization truly registered Azan was tempted to shake his head ruefully. He should have known. It was another failure on his part. He had made an unfounded assumption. Inexperience he had expected, but not the total lack of fighting ability.

There were extenuating circumstances, of course. They didn't have squires among the Knights of the Holy Iron Chains. People only entered after they had already been knighted and learned the knightly arts elsewhere. The knights only needed to maintain their existing skills. That meant that he had come to expect for everyone to be able to fight properly.

Since the church was neutral in the conflicts between the various countries they had never been tested in battle before. Their holy order was untouchable, being granted free passage everywhere. No outlaw with a shred of sense would risk attacking a large column of heavily armed and armored knights, either. Therefore he had simply not been able to observe anyone's behavior in battle.

As commander Farnese wasn't supposed to get into combat anyway, but as the fight against the black swordsman had shown it was sometimes unavoidable. Since she had felled the swordsman with a single blow he had assumed she knew what she was doing. Obviously he had been mistaken.

' _To think everything came down to simple luck…'_

Azan forced his attention back onto the present. It looked like the admission had cost Farnese a great deal of willpower. This would have to be handled carefully.

"Then we will correct that problem, Lady Farnese. Do you still remember what I told you after we took the black swordsman into custody?"

"You must not fear your sword. Though heavy, you can never lay it down till your foe no longer stands," Farnese quoted.

"Indeed."

Azan proceeded to show Farnese the basic ways to wield a sword before setting her to practice, intervening to correct things whenever necessary.

In truth he wasn't very confident of their chances of success. Squires began their training as boys. Farnese was an adult, a woman and of slight build to boot. Fighting required a great deal of strength that most woman and even many men lacked. On the other hand, their travels had led them all over the place during the last few years and Farnese had held up rather well, never complaining even once. She was more tenacious than she looked.

The training lasted for an hour before he had to call a stop, which was a lot longer than he had expected. With the cool morning hours already gone the heat was increasing quickly.

"You did well, Lady Farnese, but you need not exhaust yourself. We will continue later. Please rest and come to my tent when you are recovered."

Farnese only nodded, trembling slightly from the exertion.

"Alfonse, accompany Lady Farnese back to her tent and make sure she drinks enough water. Slowly."

"Of course, Sir Azan," the knight said before leading the commander away.

Looking around, Azan tried to gauge the mood of the onlookers. There were about two dozen people in sight. All had witnessed Farnese's lack of skill and were looking uneasy. That was something that would have to be remedied immediately, but Azan waited for one of the men to speak first.

Finally one of them posed the question that was on everyone's minds. "Sir Azan, what was this about?"

"Lady Farnese never had any sort of combat training. She does not know how to fight."

"She does not?" "Unbelievable." "But she felled the black swordsman with a single blow!"

"She did, and we have to thank God for guiding her strike."

That served to unsettle the men even more. More voices were raised.

"Have any of you asked the commander about her skill at arms? Has any of you offered help even a single time during the last three years?" Silence was the only answer. "You did not and neither did I, but we should have. Now the commander chose to forsake her pride and ask for help. It is not an easy thing to admit to such a failing. It takes a lot of willpower and strength of character. It is our duty as knights to support our commander in this. We failed Lady Farnese once; we will not fail her again. Are you with me?"

"Yes!" "We will not let the commander down!" "You can count on us!"

Crisis averted, Azan returned to his own tent deep in thought. Farnese had lasted much longer than he would have expected, but that wasn't the most important issue he had noticed.

No, the problem was that Farnese didn't sweat. Oh, her arms were shaking with exhaustion, she was red in the face and breathing heavily, but there was no trace of sweat. That was impossible, particularly in the heat of early noon.

' _First her hair, glowing mark and aura, now this.'_

It was clearly unnatural. Azan wanted to believe Farnese about her encounter with an angel, but he didn't know if he truly could. Despite his faith in God and having taken orders many years ago he was more concerned with knightly honor and practical matters.

Still, perhaps an angel had truly intervened. There had never been any doubt about Lady Farnese's faith in his mind. Her fervor had always been admirable. She had never faltered even in such very difficult and terrible duties as the hunting of heretics.

In contrast, the last four commanders before Lady Farnese had barely been present outside of the most important formal occasions. None of them had cared at all about their holy order.

' _She is someone God would choose to spread his word,'_ Azan concluded.

The difficulty was convincing the church that Lady Farnese truly had been chosen by God. Frankly, Azan had no idea how to achieve something like that. It was far beyond his duties. He did know that it would be extremely dangerous for the young woman to try and openly claim such a thing.

In the best case she would be disbelieved and dismissed from her position. In light of her changes it was more likely to end with a trial for heresy and witchcraft. The sentence probably wouldn't be the stake due to her family, but it wasn't completely out of the question, either.

The best way forward would be to keep everything as quiet as possible… and hope no more strangeness showed up.

It was about an hour later that Farnese arrived, once again surprising the old knight. He had expected a longer period of recovery.

"I thank you for your lesson, Sir Azan," she said once they were seated.

"No thanks are necessary, Lady Farnese. You did better than I expected for a beginner, but you have much to learn if you want to truly be able to fight."

"How much is much?"

That question made Azan smile. "The sword, the dagger and grappling. These three are the basic arts of knightly combat. After you make enough progress we can see about the lance."

Privately Azan doubted it would come to that. It would take many months for Farnese to achieve even a basic competence. A lot could happen in that time and there was no telling if they would find the time for constant training.

"Will we continue the training soon? I feel recovered enough."

Azan frowned. "No, not before the evening. It is currently almost noon. The danger of a heatstroke is far too high."

Farnese looked surprised. Then she nodded. "I see. It seems I no longer feel the heat and cold like normal men do."

For a few moments Azan wondered if he should bring up his observation. Then he decided to charge ahead. He had never been one for subtlety or deception. "You also no longer sweat, commander."

Farnese looked outright startled. "I do not?"

"You didn't notice?"

"No." Farnese shook her head. "Another of God's gifts?" she said, seemingly speaking to herself. Then her eyes returned to him. "You will keep it quiet?"

"I will," Azan said. "It is no different from the rest."

"Was this the reason you asked me to come here?"

"One of them, yes, but there is something else. You said you never learned to fight, commander. This admission was a true sign of your bravery. Yet, I have to ask, do you have any prior training in directing combat or commanding a company of men?"

Farnese let out a long breath before closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again Azan saw the determination there. "I do not."

"I thought so. If you are willing I will teach you like I would a squire. I might not be always available to relay your orders."

"If you think it necessary, Sir Azan…"

Azan nodded firmly. "I do."

Before they could get into details the guard outside the tent called for them. One of the grooms was waiting outside. "My apologies, Sir Azan, but Lady Farnese ordered to be informed immediately when Sir Serpico was awake."

Farnese turned back towards Azan. "I'm sorry, but will you excuse me, Sir Azan? I wish to visit Serpico as soon as possible."

"Of course, Lady Farnese. Your worry about the wounded sets an example for us all. I will accompany you."

It was only a short walk to the sick tent. The young man was awake, but he seemed to have trouble to focus properly. Something like that was not unusual for head injuries in Azan's experience. Still, he recognized Farnese immediately. That was a promising sign.

"Lady Farnese. It wasn't a dream. You have really returned."

Farnese took Serpico's hand. "Thanks to God's grace I have. It was a close thing. He performed a miracle."

Azan placed his own hand on Serpico's shoulder. "There is a tale to tell, but there will be time for it later. The important thing is that our commander returned safely. For now focus your strength on recovering."

The young man looked like he wanted to object, but Azan could see how exhausted he was. They only exchanged a few more words before he slipped back into sleep.

After returning to Azan's tent to work out the details of Farnese's training the old knight noticed a marked change in her behavior. "You seem much relieved at Serpico's recovery, commander."

"I am. We have been together for half our lives. It is difficult to imagine a world without him."

"Ah." That explained some things. Azan had obviously been aware that Serpico had been Farnese's favored servant and companion, but he had not known about the length of their relationship prior to their entrance into the knights. It made him doubly glad that Serpico was on the road to recovery.

Over the next three days Farnese was almost constantly in Azan's company, training, observing how he drilled the men and how he managed the camp. She put so much true effort into everything it warmed Azan's heart.

Whatever had truly happened to Lady Farnese in the desert, it seemed to have galvanized her into trying to be the best commander possible. That could only be a good thing.

* * *

Farnese walked under a black sky, grains of silver sand shifting under her feet with every step. Obelisks of stained glass rose around her, greater than any mountain. Green flames as bright as the sun burned at their peaks.

The obelisk-lined path seemed endless. She walked for hours, days, months, years. Finally, a stepped pyramid came into view. The climb seemed to take an eternity as well, steps stretching above and below endlessly.

A woman with hair of tarnished brass and clad in clothes of spun glass awaited her at the top. She had Farnese's face. Silently, the woman pointed towards a pit set in the top platform.

Farnese followed and looked into a lake of molten glass.

Then the glowing, liquid glass began churning, forming lifelike shapes. Farnese saw churches and cathedrals, priests leading their congregations and common people praying, holy knights fighting against the enemies of the faith and inquisitors rooting out heretics.

Farnese stumbled back as the molten glass erupted from the pit and shot into the sky. When she looked up a sphere of glass floated there, blotting out everything and showing reflections of all the shapes she had seen and more. For a moment Farnese feared being crushed by the immense weight.

Then the woman reached up and took the glass sphere into her hands and it was no larger than an apple. She offered it to Farnese and said in a voice like grinding sand, "You know what you have to do."

Farnese took the sphere and nodded. "I do now."

…

Farnese opened her eyes, finding only the darkness of her tent.

" _I think that was the vision we have been waiting for, my princess."_

She nodded despite nobody being there to see the gesture. No order had been spoken, but the knowledge had been ingrained deep inside her. Her task was to take control of the church and lead it to the proper worship of the All-Creators.

' _This will be very difficult.'_

" _That was to be expected. After all, the task has to be fitting for someone of your magnificence."_

Farnese nodded again. She couldn't let herself be daunted by the enormity of the task. Nobody had ever said God's tests were easy. In fact, scripture indicated pretty much the opposite.

In the darkness of the night Farnese began to think in earnest about the problem. The power inside her welled up almost without her conscious intent, speeding her thoughts along.

As the commander of the Knights of the Holy Iron Chains Farnese was nominally a high-ranking member of the church, but her effective power was rather limited. The order was mainly ceremonial, after all.

The most obvious solution of fulfilling God's task was becoming the official head of the church, but as a woman she wasn't eligible for the office of pontiff. If she had enough power to change doctrine that much she was already effectively controlling the church, making the exercise futile.

A more promising path was trying to be declared a prophet. That would enable her to change doctrine. In the past there had been both holy men and women.

Still, that didn't actually solve the problem of getting to that point. She needed allies for any successful claim.

' _The current pontiff is old and in ill health. He won't live much longer. Getting him on my side might be a waste of time. I have to think about who will succeed him.'_

Fortunately, Farnese was in a rather good position for that. Her second brother Politiano was the Vatican's secretary of state. Last she had heard he was thought the most likely candidate to become the next pontiff.

The downside was that Farnese barely knew Politiano. Despite living in the Vatican City for most of her life she had met him only very rarely. She would have to arrange a meeting upon her return to the Vatican.

Of course, it would be silly to rely on a single person. There were veritable hordes of cardinals, bishops and other worthies from which she would need to pick the right people as allies. The inquisition was particularly relevant to her situation.

' _I'm out of touch with the current situation. We have been traveling for too long.'_

Re-familiarizing herself with the church's movers and shakers would be a great deal of work, one she hoped to begin sooner rather than later. It made her glad she had decided to take the potentially quickest way back to the Vatican City.

Farnese didn't manage to sleep again before it was time to get up. Today it was time for them to depart this desolate place. All the wounded were finally fit for transport, even if some had to be moved in a cart filled with straw and other soft things.

Unfortunately, Serpico was among them. Although his recovery was steady, it was far too slow for Farnese's liking. She had found no opportunity to speak with him in private. That would be a conversation she didn't want anybody to overhear.

Soon enough they broke camp. The descent into the wasteland was unremarkable, although it took the entire day. Two more days were spent on travelling to the nearest village. It was a sad affair with almost barren fields. Still, it had water and a road started there... if the path of packed dirt could be called that.

All in all it was a poor village much like the countless others Farnese had seen on her travels with the knights. The peasants kept a respectful distance most of the time, but they showed up en masse when Farnese led the evening prayer. After their village priest had asked for permission, of course. She supposed witnessing such a congregation of holy knights was an once-in-a-lifetime event for them.

Another two days of eventless travel followed. The knights passed three more small villages barely distinguishable from the first.

Then, finally, they arrived at a bigger settlement, although it could hardly be called a town. It did have a proper wall, though, and a tiny fort that was currently being enlarged. The knights Farnese had sent ahead several days ago had erected a camp beneath the walls.

"Ah, civilization at last," Serpico said when a groom helped him from the cart.

"Unfortunately there is not enough space for us inside the walls. We will have to stay outside."

"That's a pity. I so hoped to meet a few beautiful women."

Azan frowned. "This is not appropriate behavior, Serpico. We should be stern and solemn as we do God's work. I have told you this many times."

Serpico shrugged. "I must not have listened."

Farnese smiled slightly at the banter. That was behavior typical of Serpico. His wits had been rather addled for the last few days, but it seemed he was finally returning to form.

That evening Farnese, Azan and a few other knights dined with the commander of the local garrison of the Chuder empire and his officers. The man was a terrible bore, as were the other guests. The main subject was the 'evil' kingdom of Midland and how Chuder had suffered at their hands.

Farnese made all the appropriate noises and avoided committing to anything. Temporal matters were not the concern of the church. She didn't see anything that could be used to her advantage, either.

When she told Serpico of the conversation later that evening he chuckled. "Chuder was the one who invaded Midland, way back when they took the Midland border castle Doldrey. That started the Hundred Year War. Apart from a few raids and ill-fated expeditions it was almost exclusively fought on Midland territory. Midland finally threw them out and took back the castle only three years ago when Chuder suffered a succession crisis."

"I remember the talk." Farnese had not been interested in politics at that age, but the end of the long war had been a frequent topic of conversation among her social circle.

The next day they set out early in the morning. The road, while still only a dirt track, was notably easier to navigate than the small paths connecting the villages. It allowed them to make good progress on their journey.

They passed three ruined villages with no living soul in sight over the next two days. On the second day Serpico was finally well enough to ride. A border patrol from Midland met them at noon on the same day. They ended up escorting them after exchanging greetings, an act Farnese soon came to regret. Their leader, a knight named Stephan, simply wouldn't shut up.

"And this is Doldrey, my lady," Stephan announced when they reached the top of a low pass. "Beyond you can see our beautiful Midland."

Farnese dutifully looked where the boastful man was pointing. Doldrey was a massive castle backed up against a mountain and presiding over a dusty plain. In the distance there was a large river, the land growing green and fertile. She couldn't see it at this distance, but she knew from the maps that this was the best place to ford the river for dozens of miles.

Slowly the knights made their descent. By the time they were crossing the plain the sun was about to disappear and long fingers of shadow cast by the mountaintops stretched across the ground.

Suddenly Farnese reared back in shock. She could see them: Shadows drifting lazily on the wind, always hiding in other shadows big and small.

' _Not again. Please, God, not again.'_

Farnese's heart hammered in her chest and she felt her hands shaking slightly. A few seconds were spent in near panic before she realized that the shadows were paying absolutely no attention to her.

"Lady Farnese, is something the matter?" Serpico asked.

For moment Farnese simply stared at her companion. He seemed completely focused on her, ignoring the nearby shadows completely. In fact, none of the riders seemed to notice anything amiss.

' _They cannot see the shadows,'_ Farnese realized.

Farnese looked back at the shadows, this time with her special burning gaze. They tasted like death, bitter, hungry, greedy and hateful. More importantly, they were _weak_. In a way they were both less and more than the embers she tasted in her fellow knights.

" _They are just ghosts, my princess, and weak ones at that. I do not think you have anything to fear. Humans sometimes leave them behind after their deaths."_

Farnese forced herself to ignore the shadowy things and answer Serpico's question. "It is just a feeling. I don't like it here. This is a dark place."

"It should be considering how much blood has been shed on these fields. We are still recovering and burying remains three years after the last battle," Stephan said, his voice now solemn.

"Ah yes, that would be the battle when you took back Doldrey from Chuder. Come to think of it, there is a small matter of curiosity. Can you tell me which of Midland's armies took the castle three years ago? The White Tigers or the White Dragons? The accounts of the battle I heard are rather muddled."

The Midland knight looked embarrassed. "Neither. It was the Band of the Hawk that took this castle. Nobody would have believed it possible, not after the White Tigers broke themselves against Chuder's Purple Rhino Knights."

' _Band of the Hawk? Is there any connection to the Hawk of Darkness?'_

"What is the Band of the Hawk? I don't think I have ever heard of them," Farnese said.

It was Serpico who answered. "They were a rather famous mercenary band. Their leader Griffith led them from success to success. He was actually becoming a well-known general beyond the borders of Midland. Shortly after Doldrey was taken he disappeared and the Band of the Hawk was outlawed."

Stephan nodded. "That is correct. Lord Griffith was expected to reap rich rewards. I do not know what happened in the capital to change his fate so much, but there are rumors abound. The armies had barely returned from the campaign when Midland's queen and many important nobles and officials died in a suspicious fire. There was a poisoning attempt on Lord Griffith as well."

"You still hold him in high esteem," Farnese said.

"I do. He was a very impressive man, that White Hawk. The people he surrounded himself with were remarkable as well. His lieutenant was actually a woman. Then there was the commander of the Hawk's raiders and strongest warrior, a man named Guts. He defeated the Purple Rhino Knights' leader, General Boscone, in single combat."

' _Guts… The name… It cannot be.'_

"Please describe that man Guts."

A minute later Farnese was sure. It was the same man, the man they had tracked for the last years and who had escaped them mere days ago. The Guts of Sir Stephan's description lacked the prosthetic steel hand, possessed both eyes and wielded a not quite so outrageously sized sword, but it was undoubtedly the same man. Unfortunately, Sir Stephan had little else to say on the topic.

Night was falling when they arrived at Doldrey's main gate, much to Farnese's relief. The plain was now teeming with ghosts, although they didn't seem to pay any attention to the living. In fact, they seemed to be asleep, if something like that could be said of a living, moving shadow nightmare.

Fortunately the castle was large enough to accommodate all of the knights. Farnese wouldn't have wanted to stay outside for all the riches in the world, Aerinian's assurances be damned.

"I want you to find out as much as possible about the Band of the Hawk. Ask among the knights and the people of the castle, but be discreet," she ordered Azan and Serpico when they settled in. "This might be the best lead we have found in years."

"As you command, Lady Farnese. Maybe we will be able to learn something sooner than expected. Doldrey's commander is hosting a banquet in our order's honor. The wine will be loosening many tongues."

Farnese had to suppress a grimace. "Ah, yes. Another banquet."

If anything the castle's commander was an even worse bore than his Chuder counterpart Farnese had dined with three days ago. There was only one remarkable thing about the entire affair, namely that the commander and the rest of the Midland knights strenuously avoided saying anything about the state of the country beyond generalities. They were helpful in regards to the best roads she would have to take, but other than that they deflected all questions.

Truth be told Midland wasn't of particular interest to Farnese, but she found the behavior suspicious.

" _Rightly so, my princess. I wonder what they are trying to hide."_

As the evening progressed Farnese managed to pick up a few tidbits of information despite all obfuscation. It seemed things were far from well in Midland. There were plague outbreaks in several towns and this year's crops had failed badly in many regions. Roads and castles were falling into disrepair. Banditry was spreading.

It was tragic and understandable that they didn't want to talk about such things. Farnese felt for their suffering as was her duty as a knight of the church, but she found something else far more interesting: Doldrey's inhabitants had dreamed of the White Hawk as well.

' _Everyone dreamed similar things. My knights did. The Chuder peasants and soldiers did. Now these people here did as well. What do you think, Aerinian?'_

" _This is most certainly the act of a powerful spirit, but I am not sure to what end. The most likely answer is that the one responsible wishes to set up himself as a target for worship. You should keep your ears open, my princess. If my speculation is correct this will directly impact our mission, regardless of whether it is an act of the All-Creators or another party. "_

The rest of the evening slowly crawled by. Thanks to her rank she was obligated to stay on the dais with Doldrey's commander and she had pretty much mined out that information source. Retiring early would be considered rather rude. Fortunately Farnese had discovered something to help with that problem three days ago, when she had dined with the similarly boring Chuder commander.

With an effort of will Farnese pulled her mind away from the tedium surrounding her into a place of calm reflection. She still understood every word and could react as appropriate, but it no longer bothered her. Somehow, her conscious mind was free to ponder whatever she wished instead of paying attention to her surroundings.

It was a wonderful if strange feeling. Farnese wished she had always possessed that ability. It made getting through boring but necessary social events so much easier.

Finally the banquet ended and Farnese was able to retire. She headed directly to her room. Maintaining the reflective state of mind for long took a lot out of her and she felt exhausted.

' _Sleeping in a proper bed after weeks of traveling feels wonderful,'_ was Farnese's last thought before sleep claimed her.

On the morning she received Azan's and Serpico's reports. They had found out a lot more about the Band of the Hawk than she had. There were a lot of tales regarding the mercenaries' exploits, but those were too distorted by rumor to be of any use. Instead they had brought her names and descriptions.

Griffith. Casca. Rickert. Judeau. Pippin. Corkus. Guts. There were other names, but these seven had been the heart of the Band of the Hawk.

"More than two thirds of all Midland military forces are constantly scouring the country for Griffith, the leader of the Band of the Hawk. Midland's king seems desperate to capture him, but nobody even knows if Griffith is dead or alive. He has not been seen for three years, but there are rumors the king kept him imprisoned until about two years ago when he escaped," Serpico said.

Azan tugged his mustache. "The Band of the Hawk itself was hunted vigorously after being declared an outlaw organization, but there seem to have been no direct encounters for a long time. Midland is in dire straits, but the king puts everything into this search for Griffith. He keeps many soldiers around instead of disbanding the armies. Seven, perhaps even eight out of ten soldiers are constantly on the hunt for Griffith."

"Griffith remains a figure of admiration among the common soldiers and probably the people. He is their hope for a better future. Many seem to identify him with the Hawk of Light they see in their dreams. It helps that he was known as the White Hawk."

"What about Guts, the Black Swordsman?" Farnese asked.

"He wasn't known as the Black Swordsman back then. Captain of the Hawk's raiders is his most common title in the tales, but he is also known as the One Hundred Men Slayer. He is not often talked about."

"The One Hundred Men Slayer? That is fitting, I suppose," Farnese could easily imagine Guts killing a hundred men in a single battle, ludicrous as the thought should be. "Anything more about him?"

"It is difficult to judge, but nobody I spoke with claims to have seen him in the last three years, which is different from the other leaders. There are more recent accounts of them, although they seem to have gone missing over a year ago as well."

"We would need to head to Windham, the capital of Midland, to find out more. That would delay our return to the Vatican for weeks, perhaps even a couple of months," Serpico said.

"What are your orders, commander?" Azan asked.

Farnese closed her eyes, struggling with herself. She wanted to follow this new trail so badly. The more she learned about Guts and his past the easier it would be to predict his movements and catch him again. She wanted him in chains or dead, preferably the latter. And yet…

" _It is your decision, my princess. I will just say it has little to do with our true mission. The effort spent might even hinder it."_

' _But investigating Griffith would be important to the mission.'_

Griffith was known as the White Hawk. People who had never heard of the man dreamed of a shining, white hawk that saved them from the darkness of the apocalypse. The prophecy that spoke of a dark hawk added another wrinkle to the situation. It was all connected, even if Farnese didn't yet know how.

" _You are of course correct, my princess. I only wonder if the most direct path is truly the easiest one. Considering that king's obsession you might not be able to investigate freely without a direct mission from the church. Judging from what you told me your superiors will not appreciate the delay, either."_

That was true, Farnese had to admit. Windham was the place most strongly connected to the Band of the Hawk, but it might not be the best place to begin her investigation. Now that she had names and descriptions the vast information networks and archives of the Vatican could be put to use. Of course, for that to work she needed the continued goodwill of her superiors.

Farnese remained undecided for a few seconds longer. It was such an important decision.

Finally she opened her eyes and shook her head. "Our plans remain unchanged. We will return to the Vatican with all haste. The trail is several years old. It will keep a few months longer."

Farnese noticed Azan and Serpico relaxing minutely. It seemed they thought she had made the right decision. She wondered if that was really the case.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** For those knowledgeable in Berserk, the plot is currently between the Bound in Irons and the Birth Rite: Revelation sub-arcs. No large-scale divergence has happened yet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Threads of Fate**

 **Chapter 4: A fallen maiden plays her role**

"Faster! Faster! You need to be faster!"

Serpico winced when Farnese hit the muddy ground face-first. A moment later she was struggling back to her feet, helped by one of the other knights. Then they started running again. The exercise continued without interruption.

' _I wonder why she is doing this.'_

Running in full armor wasn't an unusual exercise for the knights, but Farnese had never participated in the past. She was holding up better than he would have expected.

The question of 'why?' remained on Serpico's mind while he saw to his own training in a corner of the camp. The week of forced rest had caused no noticeable decline in his skills once he had fully recovered, but he had to keep in shape. Besides, practicing sword fighting always helped him think.

The foremost matter on Serpico's mind was his failure. He had not been there when Farnese needed him the most. That she had managed to return on her own was immaterial to his self-recriminations.

Of course, the Farnese who had come back was… different. She was a changed woman and he wasn't talking about her physical changes, startling as the new hair color was. No, her changed behavior was far more unsettling for someone who had known her since childhood.

In the past she had always kept herself apart from the other knights. Now she was almost constantly in company, training, learning, preaching or commanding. Her preaching in particular had become considerably better all of a sudden, easily matching that of the best preachers Serpico had heard in the past.

Farnese had always been focused on her duties since they had joined the knights three years ago. Now she was taking it to new extremes. Serpico wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

An undoubtedly bad change was that Farnese seemed to distance herself from him. Although to be fair, that was perhaps simply a result of her always being busy with something. In the past they had often shared quiet meals. Now she was always dining in more numerous company.

There was some behavior that wasn't so easily explained, though. Sometimes it was as if Farnese wanted to say something to him, but decided against it at the last moment. At other times she seemed strangely absent-minded.

' _All this stems from her abduction.'_

Serpico had heard from Farnese herself how she had been left behind by the black swordsman and how she had been saved by a miracle and met an angel… and a good dozen versions of the story from other people, one more outrageous than the other. Some claimed she had burned with holy fire or other such outrageous things.

' _If only I had been quicker…'_

The day when Serpico had followed Farnese and the black swordsman he had seen something in the darkness. Just when he had been ready to shoot the man in the back with a crossbow some _things_ had appeared and spooked his horse, causing it to throw him off. Since the next thing he knew was days of fever dreams he wasn't sure if there really had been something in the darkness or if it had been his imagination.

' _Curse that horse.'_

With a sigh Serpico sheathed his sword. It was unfair to blame the dead animal. What was done was done. He could only try and deal with the situation as it was now.

Serpico's thoughts didn't grow any lighter during the days the knights traveled through Midland, even as he got used to the new Farnese.

Autumn might be ruling in the mountains, but in the lower lands summer still lingered. Under other circumstances traveling could have been outright pleasant, but they weren't so lucky. At first they only met the occasional desperate peasant or traveler talking of sickness and famine. Before long there was barely an hour without seeing refugees bearing further bad news.

Acquiring provisions became more difficult, but thankfully remained possible due to their status. The nobles and other worthies they visited along their route echoed the tales of woe.

It seemed Midland was looking forward to an outright epidemic and serious food crisis. Serpico only hoped they would be able to leave the country before things got really ugly. The plague made no difference between peasants and knights.

One day they met a right horde of refugees who were fleeing from famine and plague. Serpico watched in confusion as Farnese stopped the column, dismounted and walked among the refugees. He had to hurry to stay at her side. It looked almost as if… she was blessing people or trying to lay on hands? He wasn't sure.

Ten minutes later Farnese returned to her horse. "We ride on."

Someone not intimately familiar with Farnese would not have noticed, but Serpico immediately picked up on her change of mood. Whatever the reason, Farnese was now very angry. He watched her carefully throughout the rest of the day, but there was no sign what had triggered that anger.

On the evening they made camp around a hill topped by a long-abandoned watchtower.

The tents were just about set up when Farnese turned to him. "I wish to visit the tower. It should give a good overview of the surrounding lands. It might take a while. Take enough supplies for a meal for two." Quietly, she added, "We need to talk."

The guards that always followed Farnese shifted uneasily. "What about us, Lady Farnese?" one of them asked.

Farnese gave the man a look. "You are dismissed for the evening. Serpico is more than enough to keep me safe. Anyone trying to get to me would have to get past the guards, wander across the camp and climb the hill in full view of everyone."

The guards seemed a bit reluctant, but they didn't put up any further argument. "As you command, Lady Farnese."

About a quarter hour later the two of them finished climbing the hill. Sometime in the past someone had laid fire to the tower, destroying its wooden upper stories in the process, but the stone ground floor was still standing. Serpico judged it safe enough after a short inspection.

Settling in didn't take much time and soon a cooking fire was blazing merrily in the old but intact fireplace. For a few minutes they sat in silence. Farnese stared intently into the fire.

"I see them, Serpico," she finally said.

' _Well, that is not particularly clear,'_ Serpico thought. "What do you see?"

"Spirits. Spirits of the dead and of disease. They are spreading the plague." Farnese looked at her hands, balling them into fists. "I see them, but I cannot touch them."

Serpico's thoughts were running a mile a minute. The dominant idea was that Farnese was… unwell. Then he tried to think of when Farnese had started acting more strangely than usual. "The refugees this morning?"

Farnese looked up. There was something in her eyes that scared Serpico more than anything before in his life. "Yes. Some of them were possessed by evil spirits. I tried to exorcise them, but I couldn't. I don't know how. God has granted me power, but I don't know how to use it yet."

He didn't know what to say to that. Doctrine spoke of evil spirits that opposed God and over the last years they had followed countless reports of such beings, but aside from the possibly imaginary monsters in the darkness he had never personally seen such a being.

"You don't believe me." Farnese shook her head. "Let me show you." She took a small stick into her hands. Then she broke it.

Serpico jumped in surprise when the two halves of the stick burst into green flames.

"As I said, God has granted me power. I really did meet an angel in the desert. God spoke to me." A gleaming mark appeared on Farnese's forehead. "I am his Chosen and I will restore the world to its proper order."

Serpico remained silent, looking from the stick devoured by sickly emerald fire to the glowing mark and back. He was well and truly stumped.

Farnse was still talking, her voice getting a slightly hysterical edge. "Everything changed that day. With every beat of my heart I feel God's power inside me. My hair is silver. I no longer sweat. I don't need to visit the latrine. I feel the flow of essence in the world. I can see spirits."

There were a lot of questions Serpico wanted to ask, some of them quite important. Unfortunately his mouth had other ideas and went with a thing of utter banality, interrupting Farnese. "Where does the food go? I've seen you eating."

Farnese looked at him, her mouth moving without a sound coming out before she finally caught herself. "I don't know. It just disappears, I think? I know I still need to eat. I'm growing hungry as normal." She shook her head. "This isn't important. God has given me a mission. I will reform the church and restore the world to its proper order. You swore to be mine, to have no master beside me, to keep no secrets but mine. Does that still hold? Will you follow me?"

Serpico didn't need to think about his answer. "Always."

Silence stretched to almost a minute with Farnese watching him intently. Then she turned her face back to the fire. "I see."

Later, long after they had returned to the camp, Serpico was lying sleepless in his tent. The day's revelations were difficult to cope with. Additionally, he had the feeling Farnsese had expected something from him, something that he had failed to provide. He just didn't know what it was.

' _When she made that stick burn she smiled. The same smile she always smiles when she burns something… or someone.'_

Since three years ago Serpico hated fire in all its forms, but this green fire of Farnese was worse than any he had ever seen. It was a fire that was right at home in Hell.

' _Was that really an angel Farnese met? Or something different?'_

Serpico didn't know. He didn't know if he truly believed in God, angels and miracles, either. Believing in monsters was far easier. Yet, he would follow Farnese into Hell if necessary… for he loved her and always would.

* * *

"You took two years. You finally caught up with him. But then you lost him?"

"And you lost so many of your men trying to catch one man. That is unacceptable!"

"Your troops are the symbol of God, one of our proudest symbols!"

"You should already know who the members of the Holy Iron Chain Knights are. They are sons of important noblemen."

"Those nobles are pillars of the faith. Fortunately, even though they lost their sons, they are still important supporters of the church."

"Anyway, this black knight task was not even assigned to you, but you took it on yourself… and now this result. We have to put a stop to it."

On and on it went. Each sentence was an accusation. Some of these accusations were justified, but most were blatantly unfair. Farnese held her silence, her mind safe in the calm place. Trying to argue would only make matters worse. The dozens of high-ranking church officials gathered in the room didn't want to hear explanations or excuses; they just wanted to assign blame to someone. It was still extremely humiliating.

Finally the flurry of accusations petered out and it was time for Farnese to speak. "There is nothing I can say in my defense. I take full responsibility for this disaster."

Thoughtful murmurs could be heard throughout the ranks of the Vatican Court.

"Things have gone fairly well overall, but there are some issues to be worked out."

"I agree. Despite everything this is not the time for changes in leadership. That black knight… we cannot be sure that he is the Dark Hawk of the prophecy. We don't even need to look at the report."

"Right now we can't worry about the black swordsman. This 'White Hawk' is a far more urgent matter."

"Rather than looking into things we can't even predict, it's better to solve the issues that are in front of us."

"General Farnese, Inquisitor Mozgus will arrive in a few days to investigate the matter. You and the knights will assist him in his task in any way possible. For now you are dismissed, but keep yourself available."

Farnese saluted, turned around and left the room. As soon as she passed the doorway she relaxed the grip on her mind. Keeping that state up for long was simply too draining.

" _That went far better than I expected,"_ the voice in Farnese's head said. _"It seems our fears were unfounded."_

' _I don't think it actually mattered much what I said or how I behaved.'_

It was a strange feeling, liberating and unsettling at the same time. She and Aerinian had worried so much what her reception in the Vatican would be considering the dead knights and events in the desert. So much planning had gone into how she would have to act and who she would make contact with. Her and Azan's reports had been carefully crafted to put her in the best light possible, with preliminary reports sent ahead.

When the Vatican Court summoned her as soon as she arrived in the city they had feared the worst. There had been no time to contact anyone.

As it turned out she got a scolding, a new assignment and was sent on her merry way without her superiors even looking at any reports. It was farcical. She felt more like an extra in a play than an independent actor.

For God's sake, she was the commander of the church's premier knightly order. What she did should matter.

" _Now, now, my princess. You should look at the opportunities this offers."_

Farnese shook her head, feeling slightly rueful. Aerinian was right. Her new assignment was a very unusual and extremely dangerous opportunity, even if most of the knights would probably balk at playing underling for the inquisitor.

Inquisitor Mozgus, the most feared inquisitor of the church. He was known for his hate of heretics and many cruelly inventive types of execution. At least five hundred people had been questioned on his behalf over the last year alone. Only a few had lived through it. The survival rate was worse than a war. Every failing no matter how minor was brought to light and counted against the questionee. He was known and feared around the world.

At the same time Mozgus was known for his intense, unshakable faith and the good works he sponsored. There was hardly a country that didn't have new orphanages and alms houses thanks to him.

It made Mozgus an extremely important man. If Farnese could bring the inquisitor to her side and make him see things her way… well, if he supported her and declared her powers holy there was nobody who would dare question the judgment.

"Lady Farnese, you are back," Serpico greeted her, startling her from her thoughts.

"What is the court's verdict?" Sir Azan asked.

"Better than expected. There will be no punishments. They weren't interested in hearing me out, though. We are forbidden from investigating the black swordsman any further. The court has assigned us a new task," Farnese said. "We are assigned to Lord Mozgus to help him investigate the matter of the White Hawk. He is expected to arrive in the Vatican in a few days."

It was interesting to watch her subordinates' reactions, the slight widening of eyes and the freezing of features. Sir Azan looked as if every hair of his mustache was standing on end. Serpico complexion turned outright sickly.

"Assigned… to Lord Mozgus?"

"The inquisitor, yes. I expect everyone to do their utmost to fulfill Lord Mozgus' wishes. We don't want the inquisitor to find fault with us, do we? He is a very important man."

Sir Azan took a deep breath. "I see. No, we don't want that. What of our existing investigation into the White Hawk?"

"I didn't mention it. As I said, the court wasn't interested in hearing anything I had to say. Everything was a done deal before we ever arrived in the city. Once the inquisitor arrives I will share everything I have learned. Are there any organizational matters regarding the knights to take care of?"

"Several. It will take some time to sort everything out."

"Then we will tend to it immediately."

Farnese could have left everything to Sir Azan and be sure it got done satisfactorily, but she decided to participate in these the tasks as she had made her habit since her exaltation. No matter how much she disliked these parts of her duties, they _were_ her duties and she needed to learn. If Sir Azan became unavailable at some point in the future she would have to be able to do everything herself or face an enormous embarrassment.

A good half of the knights that had been with her would leave for other places or had finished their tour of duty and were due for an extended leave. Replacements had to be selected from those currently present in the Vatican City.

New horses had to be acquired, equipment replaced and supplies gathered. It was very likely that Lord Mozgus would want to travel somewhere to investigate the White Hawk. The knights would have to be ready to move out at a moment's notice.

Before beginning in earnest Farnese sent a message requesting a meeting to her brother Politiano, but she didn't expect a quick reply. As the Vatican's secretary of state Politiano was a very busy man and they couldn't be called close. It had been many years since they last spoke.

* * *

After three days of hard work everything was finished or at least arranged, leaving Farnese with nothing much to do. Most of the knights had dispersed to relax or visit family and the replacements had yet to gather, leaving only Serpico, Azan and a few others. It was a strange experience, not being constantly surrounded.

" _You could begin looking into the church's past,"_ Aerinian said. _"Or you could socialize. You have received a lot of invitations."_

' _I suppose so.'_

In truth Farnese didn't feel like doing either. With Mozgus expected to arrive any day she didn't have the peace of mind to enjoy any parties. Researching the church's history was something Aerinian had been bothering her about for a while and she had no good reason to deny him, but the prospect of going through dusty archives didn't sound particularly appealing.

A not inconsiderable part of that lack of effort was that it frustrated Aerinian to a small degree. Farnese nursed the increasing suspicion that the angel was deliberately delaying her learning about the nature of God and the Holy City. She wasn't sure why he would do that, of course, and he had always seemingly logical reasons to talk about something else on top of flattery, but she recognized when someone was stalling her. Over the past few weeks she had told the angel a lot about herself and learned very little in return. It was petty, but in her unvoiced opinion he could do with a little waiting.

Fortunately a knock on the door prevented her from having to formulate an answer that might lead to a confrontation. "Yes?"

A servant entered and bowed. "General Vandimion, Cardinal Vandimion sends his regards and apologizes for the late reply. A meeting is possible either this afternoon at the Vandimion residence or in two days at his office."

"I will meet with my brother today. Please give him my thanks. I know a man in his position is always busy."

Later that day, Farnese was heading to the meeting. Riding in a carriage felt decidedly different from traveling on horseback. Serpico was riding with her, but he silently stared out of the window, seemingly lost in thought.

The thought that Serpico continued to keep silent about their relation still caused Farnese to get angry. Even revealing her changed nature didn't manage to convince him to break his silence in the matter. Of course, she could force the issue and confront him, but what would be the point? It was a matter of trust, or rather the lack thereof. If Serpico didn't tell her on his own account she could not discount the possibility that he was keeping other things from her.

" _We talked about this, my princess. You have other matters to worry about. It seems we have arrived at our destination."_

The Vandimion residence was still in the process of being rebuilt. Three years had not been enough to restore it completely after Farnese had burned it down, but one wing looked close to finished and the reconstruction of other parts was well underway.

Servants led them through half-familiar hallways until they caught sight of a slightly overweight man clad in the red-white vestments of a cardinal of the Holy See. He was discussing something with several other people.

When Farnese drew closer she noticed that the conversation was about the details of the reconstruction of the residence. "Hello Politiano."

Her brother's face lit up and he took her hands into his in greeting. "It's been a long time, Farnese." He turned to the other people. "Please excuse me. I want to show my sister around. We will continue this discussion later."

"Of course, Your Eminence."

Politiano led her through the rooms, servants and Serpico trailing behind them out of easy hearing range. Not that this appeared necessary since Politiano only talked about how the rebuilding was going. He took great lengths to explain even the smallest details.

Finally he led her to the gardens, allowing them to put an even greater distance between themselves and the others. The gardens had never been seriously damaged and were a sight to behold. The beds in particular were full of blooming autumn flowers.

"I believe that has been everything. Father left the matter of rebuilding entirely in my care. What do you think, sister?"

"Everything seems to be going well," Farnese said.

"It is. Would you like to share with me why you burned it down?"

Farnese almost missed her next step. She had not expected for her brother to bring up such a sensitive topic on their first meeting in such a blunt manner. Politiano was still smiling friendly, though, which confused her greatly.

" _He is testing you. Repeat what I say. Quickly, now."_

"Father wanted to make me marry. I objected to that decision."

"Ah. I thought it would be something like that. I understand your feelings, although I do have to admit your reaction was a little extreme."

Farnese made a small shrug at Aerinian's prompting, trying to make light of the event even if she felt far differently. "Perhaps. It did prevent the marriage."

Politiano smile broadened. Now that Farnese had a comparison this actually seemed like her brother's first genuine smile in the entire conversation. "That it did. Father was terribly wroth. Please forgive me for bringing the matter up, sister. I wanted to see your reaction. I do not know the woman you have become. I only remember a small girl wandering the mansion like a ghost."

"You don't seem unhappy that I defied our father, brother."

"Far from it. Oh, it did create all sorts of repercussions for the family, but… Father is a very controlling man." He sighed, losing the smile. "None of us really have had much choice about our lives. We are all but cogs in the machine that is Vandimion. Joining the church was not my own idea, you know. I think Father did it to bar me from the succession. Maybe I only flatter myself, but I like to think that was because I was so capable that I could have posed a danger to my brothers. Georgio and Magnifico dance to Father's tune. Oh, Magnifico always argues, but in the end he does what Father says. You are the only one of us who has managed to rebel and foil his plan for you. I must admit I admire you for that."

Farnese didn't know what to think. The world seemed to have been upended. "But… I could never say anything to Father. I could only nod and agree with whatever Father said to me," she said, completely ignoring Aerinian's prompting.

Politiano shook his head. "Farnese, words are cheap. They are no more than leaves on the wind, gone but in a moment. Take it from someone whose business it is to exchange words with all the rulers of the world. Actions are what truly matter. Yours spoke much louder than any words. I actually think you scare Father. He doesn't understand you and he fears what he doesn't understand."

Farnese was silent for a few moments. Her father being afraid of her… It just didn't make sense.

"What would you have done with your life if you had been able to choose for yourself?" she asked, more out of desire to break the silence than genuine curiosity.

Her brother looked thoughtful. "I honestly do not know. Once I wanted to become the primary heir, but I thought little beyond that. Since it was never up to me and the chance is gone I prefer not to think about what could have been. I'm not truly unhappy with my current lot in life. What about you?"

"Were you or Father responsible for my position with the knights?"

"I was traveling afar at that time so I didn't have the opportunity. Father didn't have anything to do with that either. Of course, I'm sure he would like you to believe differently. No, your appointment was simply the work of people who wanted to please our family."

Farnese nodded in acceptance. "I think I like the knightly life, to defend the faith with fire and sword." She gave her brother a self-depreciating smile. "Although I recently learned I wasn't as good at it as I should be."

"Yes, I heard of your disastrous encounter with the black swordsman. I'm relieved you returned safe and sound."

"Only due to God's grace. I'm sure you already heard lots of stories about what happened." Farnese took a deep breath, deciding to charge on despite the objections of the angel in her head. "I learned an important lesson there. For all their supposed importance and martial prowess the Holy Iron Chain Knights are not a proper military force. They are an ornament. I want to change this. I want to make them live up to their reputation, a true sword for God and the church. What do you think about that?"

"I see." Politiano was silent for a few seconds. "Tell me, Farnese, what do you know about the Kushan?"

Farnese had to think for a short while in light of the unexpected question. "Not much. I can barely remember my teachers mentioning them. They are heathens to the east, living in a hundred fractured, constantly warring kingdoms."

"I see your teaches failed to keep you abreast of recent history, sister. The Kushan are heathens, that is still true, but they are no longer politically fractured. Things have changed over the last decades. For the first time in three and a half centuries the Kushan kingdoms are unified under a single emperor. Worse, I know little to nothing about what is going on in their empire. Emperor Ganishka has closed the borders, suspended all trade and expelled all embassies and missionaries."

"Do you think he will attack us?"

"I do not know and that worries me greatly. Ganishka might turn inwards to consolidate his rule. On the other hand, he has spent decades on campaign and might want to continue with what he knows. Now that there are no more Kushan kingdoms to subjugate he might turn his eyes towards the former possessions of the old Kushan Empire. Did you know that Vritannis, the very seat of our family, was once the westernmost enclave of the old empire?"

Farnese shook her head. "I didn't."

"Few people do. We drove the Kushan out in several holy wars and conquered the city centuries ago. It might very well be that Emperor Ganishka wishes to restore the old borders, or perhaps even expand them."

" _WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME!? We can't afford to muck this up."_

' _I'm sorry.'_

"That means the church having a proper military force of its own becomes a necessity if we don't want to remain completely dependent on the various kingdoms sending any forces they want to spare," Farnese said thoughtfully, once again reduced to repeating Aerinian's words.

"Precisely. In fact, we might need to expand the knights' numbers considerably." Politiano stepped closer to Farnese, his voice barely a whisper. "Then there is the fact that when the question of pontifical succession becomes urgent the support of a host of loyal soldiers and their general could be a deciding factor."

"I understand. Family should always support each other," Farnese whispered back.

Politiano nodded and resumed his previous distance, his voice returning to normal. "Excellent. I have no objections to improving and expanding the Knights of the Holy Iron Chains. When do you think you will be ready?"

"It will take time. I still have much to learn about being a general in truth instead of only in name. With Sir Azan's support I stepped up the training of the forces with me, but they are only a part of the order. My current mission will delay any reform, but I and Sir Azan will train the knights with us to a higher standard. I don't think we can begin recruiting beyond the normal before the end of next year at the earliest. Two years are more likely."

"I understand. Do you need anything from me?"

"Some of the knights or other people might not take well to my plans. We will have to recruit from a broader base by necessity. That will appear to reduce the exclusivity of the order. I even might have to remove some knights if they should oppose reforms too strongly. If you could smooth things over when someone raises objections?"

"Of course. I'm glad we understand each other, sister."

They walked through the garden in silence for a few seconds. Then Farnese decided it was time to approach the next topic. "I'm sure you know I have been assigned to Inquisitor Mozgus to help with the investigation of the White Hawk. I would like your help in collating all the information at your disposal. Until Mozgus arrives I can't access the files of the inquisition, but I wish to be able to present him some preliminary results."

"Certainly. I do not wish to invoke the inquisitor's ire." Politiano hesitated a moment, his expression becoming worried. "Be very careful, Farnese. Mozgus is an exceedingly dangerous man. A fanatic, many say. If he should get it into his head that you are not measuring up to his requirements not even the full power of the Vandimion family will be able to protect you. I would have prevented this assignment if I had known in time, but the knights are not my area of responsibility."

"I know. That makes it so important to get on the inquisitor's good side... for both our sakes. There is another, but related matter I would like your help with. Do you know anything about a man named Griffith? He was the leader of the mercenary company Band of the Hawk."

"Griffith? That is a name I still hear fairly often."

"You do?"

"The king of Midland is obsessed with the man and since keeping up with the foibles of the various crowned heads of the world is part of my responsibility…" Politiano shrugged. "Three years ago all my contacts in Midland and Windham expected General Griffith to marry Princess Charlotte and become the next king of Midland. Then he suddenly disappeared and things got quite murky. I do not know if the man is still alive somewhere. Why did you bring him up?"

"Because I think he might be connected to the dreams of the Hawk of Light. The White Hawk was Griffith's sobriquet. All the people in Midland immediately connected the Hawk of Light to him. I believe they see him as the messiah."

"Ah, right, you recently traveled through Midland. Those strange dreams that are stirring up everything..."

Farnese hesitated. There was something peculiar in her brother's expression, barely perceptible. She decided to take a chance before Aerinian was able to give her another prompt. "So you didn't dream of him either."

Politiano gave her a calculating look. "Interesting. You are quite perceptive. Most people can't read me this well. You are right; I had no dreams of the Hawk of Light. Of course, I keep that very quiet."

"There is another reason I want to investigate Griffith and the Band of the Hawk. The black swordsman I followed for three years, his name is Guts. He was one of the Band of the Hawk's officers. One of the more famous ones, in fact. The Hundred Men Slayer."

"I cannot say I recall that name, but then again I do not think I would have paid attention to a mercenary without direct political significance."

Farnese shivered involuntarily. "His sword is a slab of steel bigger than I am. Sir Azan is the strongest man I know and he could not wield it. The black swordsman swung it like it weighted nothing. Even when he was injured and at the end of his power he bisected five armored knights with a single stroke. No mortal man should have that strength. It was unnatural."

"So that was how you lost the men. It would have been better to bring him back in chains."

"I planned to. You would think a massive iron cage in full sight of an entire camp of knights would be enough to hold him. Instead he got free somehow. I have been forbidden by the court to investigate him directly, but if he should come up in an investigation of a possible connection to the White Hawk…"

"That should be little trouble. Consider it done, sister."

Once again they walked in silence for a while, their path taking them back towards the manor.

"How is the rest of the family?" Farnese asked.

Politiano smiled slightly. "I thought you would never ask. Father and Georgio are in Vritannis, managing the family empire. Mother has embarked on a tour of the southern islands. Magnifico is still in the north, expanding the Vandimion business interests. I hear he is faring well and expect he will return before the winter is over. It is too early to tell, but there might be a family gathering in Vritannis in late winter or early spring."

"I can't say I've missed any of them," Farnese said, the words escaping her mouth before she could think better of it.

That drew a chuckle from Politiano. "Three years on the road and you still don't miss your relatives. I see you are not so different from the rest of the family. Sometimes I think none of us can truly stand the others. Mother certainly wastes no opportunity to get away from us and Father."

That was only too true. Farnese barely remembered her mother. She had always been going from party to party, playing no part in Farnese's life. Beyond a few rare meetings she had never seen her brothers. Her father had been the person she had had the most contact with and that wasn't saying much. Often there had been months between each encounter. "Does it matter?"

"I suppose not, but I think it would be nice to have at least one relative I can speak with beyond matters of advancement and mutual support. We both serve the church, but we aren't rivals. It seems there is some common ground. We barely know each other, but I would like to change that. How about we meet again in three days? I will host a soiree. It would be a good opportunity for me to introduce you to some people."

That was unexpected. Farnese didn't know if Politiano was honest or if this was some sort of plot, but she didn't see any harm in the proposal. "I will be there."

Just as the conversation petered out they arrived back at the house. "Wonderful. Now I fear I have to end this meeting. My schedule for the rest of the day is rather full."

"I think I will explore the grounds some more. It has been three years, after all."

"Certainly. This manor is yours as much as it is mine or Father's. Goodbye, sister."

"Goodbye, brother."

Farnese watched Politiano leave along with his entourage. As soon as they were out of sight she walked to a nearby bench and sat down. She felt tired and hollow. Almost throughout the day and the entire conversation she had drawn on God's power. Without doing that she wouldn't have held up half as well.

" _I believe that went rather well, my princess. Despite some deviation from what we agreed upon beforehand."_

Farnese had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Sometimes Aerinian could be rather controlling. She listened to the angel, of course, but it got slowly irritating.

The more pressing matter on Farnese's mind was Politianio's revelation about their father. Her father being afraid of her was simply inconceivable. And yet…

"Tell me, Serpico, do you think Father is afraid of me?" Farnese asked.

Serpico visibly struggled with the answer, visibly surprised by the question. "I don't know. I never really thought of Lord Vandimion in this way, Lady Farnese."

' _That was a non-answer,'_ Farnese thought before rising. "Come. Since we are already here I want to visit my altar."

Real estate was at a premium in the Vatican City. The extent of the grounds belonging to the manor was a display of the enormous wealth of the Vandimion family. In addition to the well-kept park the grounds sported an actual forest.

Deep in the woods, in a little clearing, hidden in a hollow tree, was Farnese's secret altar, her crematorium, the place where she had burned all bad things when she was younger.

' _It feels so long ago…'_

Sometimes it seemed to have been an entirely different life. So much had changed since she involuntarily joined the knights and especially since Aerinian came to her.

"Did you bring the incense?"

"Of course, Lady Farnese."

Serpico handed her the expensive incense. She then placed it before the altar, igniting a stick with the last dregs of her essence and using it to light the incense. The green flames gave the smoke an unusual aroma, but Farnese discovered that she actually found it pleasant.

" _You know, my princess, you could use the opportunity to replenish your essence. I believe we are reasonably safe here and I do not like for you to remain vulnerable."_

Farnese considered the proposal. It was true. There was nobody in the vicinity aside from Serpico and he already knew about the matter. It was highly unlikely anyone would travel so deep into the woods, either.

For the first time since her exaltation Farnese truly opened the spring of power inside herself. Immediately she felt fresh essence filling her. The mark on her forehead lit up and her anima banner appeared around her, green and silver flames burning brightly. She felt she could draw even more power, but she suspected that would make her glow even more brightly. There was a limit to what even dense vegetation could cover.

Then Farnese prayed. She prayed to God and she prayed to his angels, first among them Cecelyne, the Lawgiver. She prayed for strength and guidance, for wisdom and might so that she might fulfill the task given to her.

' _Whatever Father truly thinks of me or whether Serpico is faithful, there is one thing in the world I can rely on. God's power will always be with me.'_

* * *

One day after Farnese's meeting with her brother the files he had promised her arrived. Her office was rather large, but it was soon crowded by stacks of paper – several years' worth of reports and correspondence, not to mention all the new reports about the White Hawk.

Farnese had some experience doing investigations, but the task of finding that which interested her out of countless, many years old reports was daunting. Fortunately her brother's people had already done the groundwork.

Remembering her mission, she first turned to the matter of the White Hawk. There were a lot of reports. It seemed as if there was no place in the world not touched by the dreams. Aside from that fact she learned very little. The dreams were all rather similar.

After two hours of sighting reports Farnese felt she had done her duty and began searching for information about Guts, the black swordsman, among the files regarding Midland her brother had sent her.

Once again she learned very little. Oh, Guts had his own file, but there was very little of practical value. Unknown origin, long time member of the Band of the Hawk, commander of the Hawks' raiders, user of oversized swords (though none so outrageously sized as the one he had wielded when Farnese had met him), possibly the Hawks' strongest fighter, there were numerous but ultimately useless facts. He had been close to Griffith and cherished by the men under his command, but he had seemingly maintained absolutely no contacts outside of the mercenary band.

' _I think I should look into the general information about the Band of the Hawk. Perhaps there is more hidden in those reports than what the scribes felt worthwhile compiling into the single files.'_

The first time the Band of the Hawk came to be known as more than random mercenaries was when the Chuder Empire hired them a little more than seven years ago, but they must have been active for a couple of years before that event at last. The general chaos of war made it impossible to find out specifics. It wasn't entirely clear what the company did for their employer Lord Gennon, but it must have been incredibly lucrative because they began expanding considerably shortly thereafter. Almost the entire later officer corps was already present at that point.

In the following years the Band of the Hawk served a number of different employers, increased their reputation and continued to expand. Guts joined them around the beginning of that timeframe.

The company's true golden age started when they defeated Chuder's Black Ram Knights while in the employ of Midland a bit more than three years ago, turning around a seemingly lost battle and bringing them to the attention of the king of Midland. He took a liking to the mercenaries, integrated them into Midland's regular army system and knighted and ennobled Griffith.

It was the beginning of an unprecedented ascension. Nobody and nothing seemed able to stop the Band of the Hawk as they won battle after battle and took back much of Midland's occupied territory from Chuder. Chuder's Blue Whale Knights fell before them as did the famous Purple Rhino Knights in the final battle for Doldrey. In a twist of irony Doldrey was commanded by Baron Gennon, the same man who had helped the Hawks grow beyond one insignificant mercenary band among many.

" _Do all your kingdoms name their armies after colors and animals?"_

' _No, that seems to be a custom shared between Midland and Chuder.'_

The Hawks suffered only a single setback during the entire time as they took for them unusually heavy casualties while taking an otherwise unremarkable castle. Politiano's people had noted rumors about them facing a monster, although the report was marked as unreliably. Some said they had faced Nosferatu Zodd.

" _Who is that?"_

' _A story, or perhaps a rumor. Nobody knows if he truly exists. He is said to have fought in every war of the last three hundred years. Wherever there is much bloodshed he appears sooner or later.'_

In light of recent experiences with angels, monsters and spirits Farnese thought it likely that Zodd was real, but she couldn't be sure.

After the successful conclusion of the campaign the Hawks returned to Windham. Reports indicated that there were plans to rename them the White Phoenix Knights and make them the third of Midland's elite armies in addition to the White Tiger Knights (who had suffered heavy casualties in a disastrous attempt to take Doldrey before the Hawks) and the White Dragon Knights. That was three years ago.

Then came the fall, sudden and steep. The Band of the Hawk was outlawed, although they managed to escape the ambush that had been set for them. Over the following year they were constantly hunted and harried.

Griffith was imprisoned and tortured in the capital. The reports said his screams could be heard for an entire year. Then… nothing. Shortly thereafter a flurry of events happened in short succession and Midland's king went truly overboard with his persecution of the Hawks. The opinion of Politiano's sources was that Griffith had somehow escaped custody.

Farnese took the most succinct report and read out loud. "A noticeable number of guards disappeared sometime during the last days. They are presumed dead. The Bakiraka, a group of Kushan assassins in the king's employ, disappeared but for one member. I have eyewitness reports that she was executed for incompetence by the king himself after she handed over Princess Charlotte. The Black Dogs, the most cruel and ill-reputed of Midland's armies, were sent out and didn't return. I conclude that the remnants of the Band of the Hawk staged a successful rescue of Griffith and killed all pursuers. I fear for the king's sanity. He appears outright obsessed with Griffith and his health is declining noticeably."

That was pretty much a confirmation of the rumors Farnese heard at Doldrey. Strangely, despite the king increasing the search for the Band of the Hawk and Griffith there were no confirmed encounters after that event. That had been two years ago.

Farnese frowned. _'Two years ago… that was when the eclipse happened and we found the lake of blood.'_

There had certainly been enough gore to account for both the Band of the Hawk and the Black Dogs, but it didn't tell Farnese what had actually happened. It was frustrating. The rest of the reports were similarly unenlightening.

It was already deep in the night when Farnese got around to reading about Griffith. All reports about the man were full of praise. He seemed to have been the perfect general, loyal and capable.

Aerinian scoffed. _"Hardly, my princess. Look at that entry. There was an assassination attempt on Princess Charlotte that Griffith foiled… and a short time later Duke Julius, the king's brother, general of the White Dragon Knights and heir to throne, just happens to die along with his only son Adonis. He was a noted opponent of Griffith. Or look again at the list of nobles that died in the fire after Doldrey's capture and compare it with the list of Griffith's enemies."_

Farnese did so. The lists of names were practically identical. Every opponent of note had died in that fire including Midland's queen, with the exception of a man named Foss who had practically retired from court a short time later.

Looking at the reports, it was actually very strange that nobody seemed to have made the connection before.

" _A very ruthless man, that Griffith. I can't help but wonder if the princess was the true target in the first place."_

' _You mean Griffith was the intended victim?'_

" _Perhaps. He certainly turned the situation to his advantage, getting elevated to a count in the aftermath. Maybe he even set up a fake attempt. Such a thing would be rather tricky to pull off, but the payoff can be very worth it."_

Something bothered Farnese. _'Aerinian, why do you know so much about intrigue and court politics?'_

The angel was silent for a few moments. _"Ah. Well, my princess, that is because of some of my previous masters. I'll have to tell you about them at some point in the future. Anyway, if even part of my speculations are true it would explain Griffith's and the Hawks' fall. Discovering even part of this would certainly cause the king to take extreme measures."_

' _True, but it doesn't really help us in regards to Guts and the matter of the White Hawk.'_

Farnese yawned and looked out of the window. The sky was already turning brighter. She had worked through the entire night.

Unfortunately, Farnese had no time to continue her investigation, no matter how much she would have liked to. She had to acquire some maids and a dress to prepare for the soiree her brother had invited her to. Then there was her training, of course.

"You are making excellent progress, commander," Azan complimented her after another exhausting training session.

"Thank you, Sir Azan. I'm doing my best." Farnese didn't really think she was improving particularly fast, but she supposed the old knight was a better judge of that subject than she. He had gotten her several books on warfare that she was reading in her spare time, too.

Politiano's soiree was only the first of a number of social events Farnese visited. Her silver hair drew more than the usual share of attention to her; including many questions about what dyes she used to get such a spectacular result. In fact she suspected she was sparking a new fashion trend. There were so many people who tried to pander to her thanks to her family name…

Farnese still wasn't sure if her brother was genuine in his stated goal of improving their relationship, but he did help her enormously in reacquainting herself with the Vatican City's social scene. In her opinion she made a much better impression on society at large than three years ago, when she had been a debutante. Politiano was simply very good at dealing with people and Farnese did her utmost to learn all she could.

After a short period of settling in Farnese chatted, danced and politicked with the best of them. A flutter of eyelashes here and a serious discussion about some political or societal topic there and it was as if she had always been a fixture of this society. This time around she didn't limit herself to dancing solely with Serpico, either. She didn't even provoke a single duel!

Farnese's work in regards to reorganizing the knights for another expedition met with little problems and soon they were ready as they could be. The only thing missing was Inquisitor Mozgus, who had been delayed due t bad weather. Her investigation was going considerably less well. Working through all the reports didn't give her any better idea about how to catch the black swordsman or predict his moves, but she learned many tidbits of information that might become useful later.

Soon enough Farnese's relatively carefree time came to an end. Mozgus was finally to arrive in the Vatican. Farnese and a parade formation of knights assembled to greet him. The coach arrived at the expected time and out stepped the inquisitor.

Mozgus was a tall and muscular man, at least as far as Farnese could determine with the clothing obscuring most of his frame. His face was strangely smooth and looked almost flat.

Farnese went to her knee in greeting. "Lord Mozgus, let me welcome you back in the Vatican. I and the Knights of the Holy Iron Chains are at your service. It is an honor for us to work with you."

"General Farnese, please rise. I have heard much about you and look forward to our cooperation. Please excuse my delayed arrival. Travel was unexpectedly difficult for the time of the year."

"No apologies are necessary, Lord Mozgus. I have already assembled a number of reports about the matter of the White Hawk, both from general sources and the Vatican's office of state. We can go through them as soon as you prefer."

"Exemplary work, general. That will hasten the investigation considerably."

Farnese and Mozgus spent the next three days going through the reports of the White Hawk. The inquisitor seemed to be a perfectly nice and reasonable man filled by a deep faith, but Farnese kept her guard up. She knew very well that the man's reputation was well-earned. For now she refrained from bringing up Griffith or Guts.

On the morning of the fourth day Mozgus called her into his own office instead of visiting hers. "I believe I have found something significant. Here, please read this, general."

Farnese took the offered sheet of paper. It was a report from the abbey of Albion, a large monastery in the mountains near the border to Midland. Masses of refugees were congregating there and the abbot was asking for support in feeding them. More urgently, he was asking for the inquisition's assistance. Two priests had been murdered, with only their flayed skins turning up. Several heretical symbols had been found as well.

"Do you see the connection, general? I wish to investigate this as soon as possible. How quickly will you be ready to leave?"

Farnese nodded. "I see. In that case I will immediately prepare the knights for departure. We should be able to set out on the morning."

In truth Farnese didn't see. Lots of Midland refugees gathered in a lot of places. Albion didn't stand out in any way. Yes, there were indications for a heretic cult among them and the murders were truly ghastly, but nothing seemed directly connected to the White Hawk.

" _I suspect the inquisitor is hoping for a good witch hunt. He seems less interested in investigating the White Hawk than he should be."_

' _It doesn't matter, even if I think you're right. We need to stay in Mozgus' good graces.'_ She considered the matter for a few seconds. _'It puts us closer to Midland. After this matter is resolved we could try to convince Mozgus to travel to Midland and investigate there.'_

" _Too true."_

Farnese hastened her steps. There was still a lot to do if they wanted to be ready to leave for Albion.

They were already several days on the road when news arrived: the Kushan Empire had invaded Midland and conquered the capital Windham.

* * *

Sheep gather in the holy place of shepherds.

A pillar of flame rises.

When the heavens fall down,

It will appear.

* * *

 **Author's notes:** It took a lot longer to get this chapter out than I wanted. Writer's block is back in full force. Sigh.


End file.
